From Brilliant Red To
by Alex Ultra
Summary: The world seems to have changed around me, and taken me with it and, as such, there's nothing left to do but to enjoy this new, wild ride.
1. Why Me?

Well, this is something I came up with after reading one of the many self-inserts out there that had the author taking someone's place. Feeling left out, I decided to make one too. ;P

DISCLAIMER: Listen. I'm pretending to become one of the characters. Is that the quality of someone who owns them? No? That's what I thought. I'm not going to say this twice. I don't own them, it, nor any rights to the products or even the promos. I'm just a poor kid with a crappy computer and plenty of time.

------ Why Me? ------

"AAAHHH!!" 'GAH IT'S COLD!!' In my shock and confusion, as I was absolutely reeling from the fact that I was unprepared for not knowing what was going on, and the fact that this particular scene didn't feel like a dream, I didn't notice as I was passed between several sets of hands and eventually wrapped in something soft and warm. 'Ah, that's better... wait, what's going on?' With that thought, I then I managed to get my eyes to open, just barely; looking around I saw several large people surrounding me, and after a few minutes of handling, I was passed to the hands of what was apparently a woman.

The whole bunch of them were speaking in a language I didn't understand, but I could pretty-well guess what had happened; after all, it was fairly obvious, even though the knowledge was just as confusing as not knowing. The only problem that I could think of, though, was, 'When did I die?'

Oddly, I didn't figure it out right away, as I barely even got the chance to think about it before falling asleep. Apparently, newborns don't stay awake a whole lot.

For several days I seemed to be gliding through the days as if purely on instinct, which makes sense since I was barely awake for more than an hour at a time. Within a couple of weeks I had fallen well into the daily routine presented to me by my size and age.

And while I wasn't sleeping, I was observing, just as any child that age should be; but at the same time I also tackled that one problem, '_When and how_ did I die to be reincarnated!?'

The last thing I could remember was going to bed. It was late at night and I had been tired. So what happened?

Knowing Nebraska, it was rather possible that there had been a storm, even a tornado. If that was the case, then that meant three things. First was that I probably wouldn't have been the only one to go like that. Second, it must have been a pretty powerful twister to have pulled me straight out of bed, or it had more likely simply dropped something on me; that would have done it I'd bet. And third... I must have been a heavier sleeper than I thought!

Of course, it was still possible that all this weird stuff was just a dream. It certainly felt like one, since everything seemed to blur together from day to day. Heck, even though I had no idea where I was, I could have easily imagined it all!

'Well, I may as well play along...' This thought came as I apparently soiled my diaper and began to cry out loud.

--

It took me nearly an entire month to figure out what my name was. At first, I simply turned my head whenever I heard a voice, since I couldn't really pick out anything that sounded like a name in all the gibberish those people, who were apparently my parents, were speaking with. What was that name?

Akane. 'Isn't that...? Oh crud...'

I was Akane Tendo, youngest daughter of Soun Tendo and... whoever that woman over there was.

Sensing that I was hungry, I proceeded to get that woman's attention while resolving to come to know her name. After all, she _is_ my mother now, right?

--

"YA! YA! YA!" Me and my two sisters were practicing our Martial Arts forms under our father's watchful eye. I hadn't had to pester him about it too much, he seemed more than happy to include me even at barely-speaking age. I wasn't really all that great at speaking yet, at least in Japanese, but at least I could stand around and throw punches.

Nabiki, my little-big sister, was barely any better at it than I was, and oddly, though she was at least three years older than myself, the same went for Kasumi. Kasumi just didn't seem to hold any interest in it, even less than Nabiki, who only seemed to be practicing for play.

Not that I minded, I found it to be rather fun myself. And since I had confirmed that yes, I was indeed _that_ Akane, I was determined for things to be different. I would work harder, be better prepared, and then there was our mother...

At first, I didn't want to become attached to her, since I knew that she eventually wouldn't be there, but... I really couldn't help it. 'I'll protect them. Things will be different. Mama will be okay and we'll all be happy. I just hafta be strong...'

--

"There you go, Akane. All better!"

"Thank you, Doctor!"

"Doctor?" Kasumi's soft voice came into the clinic from the front door.

"Oh! Hello, K-kasumi! Come to get your sister?" Looking up at the doctor's face I could already see him getting a slightly glazed look in his eyes.

Shaking my head, I wondered why he was so taken with my sister. She was barely nine years old!

"Yes, thank you, ready to go Akane?"

"Uh-huh!" I happily hopped off the table and tip-toed over to my sister to take her hand.

"Thank you, Doctor, for treating my sister." Kasumi led me in a bow to the doctor, who smiled back.

"Oh that's quite okay, that's what I'm here for." He waved us goodbye and we left.

On the street, Kasumi commented on my tomboyishness. "Akane, must you be such a tomboy? You know that no boy will ever come to like you if you must always act like one."

I didn't say anything. 'And why shouldn't I be a tomboy? It's perfectly okay, and I'm not hurting anyone. And if they don't like it, that's their problem. It's no loss to me...'

Besides, whether I admitted it or not, there was only one person I was really worried about...

--

"Hello? Father? Mother? We're home!"

I placed my shoes beside Kasumi's and we went inside. There was then a voice coming from the Living Room calling to us. "Kasumi? Akane?"

"Mister Tanaka?" Kasumi seemed only somewhat surprised. Mister Tanaka was our neighbor, and the father to one of daddy's students.

"Oh girls, I'm glad to see that you're okay! Come on, we need to go now..." There was an odd urgency in his voice that I wasn't really sure I liked. And it didn't take an Anything Goes fighter to read his body language; he was practically wearing his worry on his sleeve.

"Where's daddy?"

"We're going to see him, come on, let's go." He gently led us back out the door, guiding us back to his driveway and into his car. Kasumi was confused, but I was simply worried.

I was hoping that what I thought had happened, hadn't happened.

--

My heart was racing as we walked through the turn-style doors to the local hospital. Looking around the large waiting room I located daddy's hair and pointed that way.

Mister Tanaka nodded and took us that way, guiding us through the droves of seats to where he and Nabiki were sitting, daddy constantly staring down a nearby hallway.

Kasumi spoke first, "Daddy? What's wrong? What's going on, why are we here?"

Noticing us, he forced a smile. "Come here girls," we did and he wrapped the three of us in a big hug. Then he backed off, still trying to appear cheerful. "Now listen girls. Mommy's sick, and had to come here to get better. The doctors say we can't go in right now, so we have to wait out here, so be good, for mommy, okay?"

His speech may have helped Nabiki out, though Kasumi probably knew better, judging by daddy's tears. But I, who already knew what had happened, wasn't fooled one bit.

Choking back tears, I backed up until I bumped into one of the chairs. I then climbed into it and gathered my knees to my chest, burying my face in them. Perhaps I did it to hide my tears; but really, I think I may have been trying to hide from the world, to get away from the nightmare I had suddenly found myself in. I had thought that I was prepared, even ready… but despite all my knowledge, all my time to prepare… I wasn't even close, and it scared me more than I was ready for…

I don't know how long we waited, though it was long enough that Mister Tanaka eventually told us that he had to go, and that by the time one of the doctors came to get us it was dark outside.

"Mister Tendo?"

"How is my wife? Is she going to be okay?"

The look on the doctor's face wasn't promising. "We've managed to stabilize her, so you can go see her. But she is in pretty bad condition and we're afraid that... she may not be long for this world... I'm sorry."

"I can see her?" The doctor turned around with a slight bow and began leading us to the room our mom was in.

Stopping by the door, the doctor waved a hand, bowed slightly, and went on his way.

"Kasumi, could you watch your sisters for a moment? I won't be long."

"Okay daddy."

Then he went inside, and we were left there in the hall.

Nabiki turned to Kasumi, "Kasumi, do you think mommy'll be alright?"

"I hope so, Nabiki. I hope so..." I'm not really sure Nabiki understood what would happen if she weren't. I didn't want to think it either.

'I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached... Why didn't I see it coming!? I should have known!' Despite my best efforts, tears still escaped, silently running down my knees and dousing my shorts. 'I couldn't protect her...'

I'm not sure what, but something made me pull my face out of my lap and look over at my sisters. 'But... what about them? Their mother is gone too... or going at best… I can always protect them, even if they don't want it...'

**Click**

Looking up at the door, I spied daddy closing the door to mama's room. He didn't look too happy, but he quickly smiled, for our sakes. "Come on, let's go home..."

"But what about-"

"Mommy needs her rest, and so do you all. We'll be back first thing in the morning to check up on her. Now let's get home and you three in bed, okay?"

The three of us begrudgingly allowed ourselves to be led out of the hospital. As we turned a corner just beyond her room I thought I heard a sudden, high-pitched squeal, and just managed to spy a doctor and a nurse rushing into the room.

Wrapping my arms around my uneasy stomach, I sped up just enough to catch up to what was left of my family...

'This is not the kind of guilt meant for a six year old… let alone the pain.'

--

When we got home daddy made dinner, with a lot of Kasumi's help, and we ate a semi-edible meal. Nothing like what mama made, and I was pretty sure it was nothing like what Kasumi would eventually be making, but it was edible. Honestly, I was a bit too afraid to even try cooking, knowing Akane's field record in the area.

We then all got clean, dressed, and went to bed.

But I couldn't sleep, I was too worried, and somehow sure that...

"_Sigh_ I really hope she's alright..."

I don't know what time it was when I heard the phone ring, but that prompted me to get out of bed and check. Going downstairs, I found daddy standing beside a corner table with the phone.

"Yes, I understand... thank you. ... Yes. Goodbye." **Click**

"Daddy?"

Looking up, he noticed me standing in the hallway. "Hey, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep..." Seeking comfort, I walked to my father while rubbing my eye.

"Well come here..." Opening his arms, I could already see tears in his eyes. As I moved into his arms I thought about how much of an emotional man he already was. It was what momma had always loved most about him. He wasn't the kind of man to cry loudly on the drop of a dime, but he wasn't a tough-guy either. It was probably something to do with that old master of his, What'sisname.

"Is mommy coming back?"

He breathed deeply, trying for my sake to keep the tears from coming out, then looked down at me with an obviously fake smile. "Of course she is. She'll get better fast and then we'll all be back here, just like always..."

He pulled his hand to the back of my head, as if I was some kind of cat. I didn't mind, he had been doing it since I was a baby. The very fact that I could remember that time almost seemed odd for some reason, but I always had. But this time I pulled my head away from his hand and looked into his face, scowling slightly at the man. "Don't lie; you're not a very good liar. She's not coming back, is she?"

With a sigh, he put his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. "Mommy was very sick. She wasn't strong like you or me, and she got hurt really badly. She was asleep in the hospital, but now she's dead, and won't be waking up. I'm sorry, Akane-chan."

"Dead..." I whispered the word like a curse. Despite what most would have thought, it was part of martial arts, at least in Anything Goes, to know and understand death. This meant that all three of us knew basically that when someone was dead, that they wouldn't be waking up. And now all of us would know why we couldn't kill, because it hurt like Hell...

As I sat there on his lap, feeling protected from the world by his strong grip, I felt like I just couldn't keep it in anymore. I leaned in, and I cried. I shook slightly and cried with all my heart.

'It just isn't fair! Why did they take me here if I can't change anything!? Why am I here!?' My previous promise forgotten, I thought to myself over and over just how unfair it all was. For that time, I felt helpless, almost hopeless.

I'm not sure how long I cried. I'm also not sure how long it took me to notice that daddy was crying too.

When I did finally notice this, my thoughts changed somewhat. I realized that they, the rest of my family, were also probably thinking and feeling much the same. That they also were, or would be in my sisters' cases, feeling helpless and hopeless.

So I again resolved to protect them, to help them in any way I could.

My sobs pretty much stopped as I thought things over. My body, tired out from crying for so long, fell limp as I did, and I could hear him crying aloud in the otherwise deathly-cold room.

His sobs reminded me of the biggest obstacle I faced in holding this family together. My sisters were young, but strong. Daddy, however, had something wrong with him. Because of that master of his, he had no way of calming himself down when feeling frightened or helpless. That had always been mother's job; she was always the one to remind him that he had a life. And now that she was gone, he was going to be without control, and without any kind of direction. This was something that would be okay for a while, but he would eventually have to go back to being our father. Even _I_ wasn't sure I could do it without him...

--

After that, I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep for real, because the next thing I remember was waking up in my bed. The sun was up, filtering through the yellow curtains covering the window, casting a soft glow through the rest of the room.

Looking at the clock, I had to guess that daddy had turned off my alarm, letting me stay home from school. So too that he didn't get me up to train with him, which probably meant that he was in bed as well.

'The first day... how do I handle this? ... Come to think of it, how will _they_ handle this?' I already knew how they ended up, but I still didn't know how any of them initially took the news of... Kumiko's death.

The tear that came to my eye told me to stop thinking about it. The time for that was later, at the funeral. As for now... well, what now?

Finding that I was somewhat too tense, I opted for a little exercise to stretch out my muscles.

As I performed my kata out in the dojo, alone in my exercise as my sisters and father were all still asleep, I thought it no wonder that the original Akane had taken such a liking to Martial Arts, it was a great stress release.

I don't know how long I was in there before Nabiki came and got me. "Akane, come on, we're late for school!"

Oddly enough, she had caught me while I was just smashing bricks, one of the original Akane's favorite pastimes. One might think it odd that I was smashing bricks at such an age, but the truth was that all three of us could already do so by age five.

Stopping what I was doing, I looked knowingly at my sister. "I don't think we're going to school today, Nabiki."

"What? Why not?"

"Go ask daddy, I'm sure he knows..." I then turned back to the small pile of bricks I had piled, ready to be pummeled into the floor. Strangely, I no longer felt quite like breaking them, and simply left them for later. Instead, I went off to one of the corners, one with a bunch of pillows piled up, and started to sort out my emotions through meditation.

I'm fairly sure that, while I did this, I was probably glowing, although I couldn't see it myself. Sometimes daddy or one of his newer students would comment on it, and a lot of the older students, much older than I was even, would often try their best to do it too. So far, only one could begin to glow, just slightly, and none of them could glow quite like I could. I was already well known as a prodigy, and had plans to go farther.

In strength, I was barely equal to my peers, by which I mean those in the later classes, as I had always been pushing my strength as much as my skill. This coupled by the fact that I still got a good workout fighting some of those later students meant that neither of those factors alone were what gave me my energy skills. There seemed to be something special about me, something that no one could quite place. So they simply called me a prodigy and left it at that.

A while later, I went inside, after putting the bricks back into storage, not feeling like breaking them at the moment.

Inside, I found that the rest of my family was caught in a wordless group hug in the Living Room. When he noticed me, daddy motioned me over and I joined in the family hug.

Caught in the warmth, I didn't even think about why he hadn't thought to find me... I simply let it slide.

Oddly, Nabiki looked kind of confused, whereas Kasumi looked overly worried when we finally broke out of the hug.

"Now what was your question, Nabiki-chan?" I then lost my footing and, despite all my training, fell on my head.

It hurt, very much. And for a second, it made me forget about the news that daddy obviously hadn't told yet...

--

The funeral, which we held in the dojo, was long and emotional, as everyone that Kumiko, my mother, had ever touched was in attendance. And that was a _lot_ of people.

I sat on the floor beside my sisters mostly as a formality, as I had already said my goodbyes soon after we had moved her casket into the dojo. And I had plans to say them again after everyone was gone.

Most of the conversation that I had overheard went along one of three lines. "And she was such a sweet girl too...", "Look at the three girls she left behind, and now they're without their mother." and finally, "You know, that guy, their father, he's pretty fragile. Now that she's gone he'll be a wreck, I just know it."

Those talking of the last one didn't know how right they were... But I was going to make sure that he wouldn't be too much of a wreck.

By the time everyone had said their peace there was left a large pile of flowers on, against, and in front of her casket, among other things that people had thought to bring.

--

It took a few hours for the service to be finished, after which I listened in my bed as my family cried themselves to sleep. Daddy's voice was the loudest out of the three as I lay there, looking up at the ceiling, wondering what mama was thinking about all of this that was going on down here.

I think it was midnight before all the crying stopped, leaving me alone in a quiet house, with the only sounds being the occasional traffic outside.

There was one more thing I had to do before I went to sleep that night; I had to say what was on my mind.

Moving slowly and quietly, I made my way downstairs and then out to the dojo, where mama's casket still sat. I then sat down in front of it and started speaking.

"I hope you can hear me in there, since I can't open up the top without knocking everythin' over, so I'll just have to talk like this.

"I really wish you didn't hafta go, but I guess that isn't my choice; you're gone now and I have to accept that. But before you went any farther, I wanted to say just one more thing.

"Everybody's taking it pretty hard now that you're gone, especially daddy. I know that, being the baby and the youngest, I'm supposed to be taking it really hard too. Hey, I'm not even supposed to know what death really means, but I guess I kinda cheated since I'm really a lot older than I look. Yes, I really am your Akane-chan, but I didn't really start that way. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but now that you're gone I guess I can trust you with it. Before you had me, I was somebody else; a full-grown kid with a life... in college and everything. Then, I guess, when I died, the gods thought I wasn't finished and sent me here. I guess now you know why I was always so smart, huh?"

I took a deep breath before going on. "I'm really not sure yet why it is I'm here; but I guess I'll figure it out. I guess now that you're gone, somebody has to keep everybody down here in line, especially daddy." The more I talked, the more my heart raced and my throat began to catch, I could tell that the tears weren't far behind.

After a couple of deep breaths my heart calmed down and I could hold the tears mostly in check. My eyes were still watery, but that was okay, I wasn't really using them anyway. "Let's see, what else should I say?"

I sat there, staring at the floor for a while before I came up with a thought. "No one expects me, or even wants me to put on a brave face, so I won't. But I'll also make sure that the others don't pretend to be brave when they aren't, I don't want anyone pretending for me when they don't have to." I smirked slightly, "I guess you already know that, don't you? You always knew that I knew what you were really thinking, didn't you? And you love me for it."

I was silent for a few seconds before moving on, "I got my whole life in front of me, and so do my sisters, and even daddy isn't dead yet. I'll make sure that everybody keeps kicking, it's what you'd want us to do..."

Standing up, I leaned against the casket, trying to attempt to hug my mother through the hard wood that surrounded her. "Good by mama-san..."

I stood there for a while, not saying anything, before finally going back inside, soaking my pillow before finally going to sleep.

--

As for my training, well, before I could really train, I needed to get daddy to actually train me. And for that, he needed to get his head out of his butt.

After about a week after... well, it took me a week to decide to confront him. I simply asked when he was going to start training me again. His response was, "I don't know, Akane-chan. Maybe later."

"And the other students?"

"Later, I don't feel like it right now..."

"Don't feel like it? How much later, Daddy? A week? Two? Are you ever going to feel like it? Are you going to start training us again!?" I was upset as I said this. Maybe I was going too fast, but the fear that he might become that useless wreck told me that if I didn't go too fast, then I would lose him forever.

For a moment, he fish mouthed. Then he seemed to forget who he was talking to and yelled at me, "My WIFE just died!"

"And so did my mommy! I just don't want my daddy or my sensei to die too! Okay!?"

"What!? But Akane, I'm not going anywhere!" He had dropped the -chan. Good, I wasn't that little girl in his mind anymore, I was someone he was talking to seriously. Most people probably would have been appalled at having their child scold them, but daddy was different. He would take the scolding and seriously listen. That old master of his had done that to him, he was too sensitive...

"But if you just sit around all the time, then what are you? You've been a lump on the floor, and you'll keep on going like that unless you eventually move on! And if you're a lump on the floor, and mommy's gone, then who's there for us, huh? A lump on the floor isn't a daddy or a sensei!" I was crying now, and my breaking heart, driven by fear, made me jump out and latch onto his neck as I cried pitifully into his chest. As I did, I was as much berating myself for fear that he might be angry with me for saying what I did, and as well feeling like an idiot and a bunch of other things that at the moment I really couldn't have pinned down anyway…

He was speechless. 'Well good, I don't want him saying anything, not until I'm done at least.'

"Mommy, _snif_ said that you were special. She said that, unless someone told you to stop, that you would be sad forever. She said that it didn't matter what happened, that if any of us left you, that it would take her forever to get you to keep going. And... now that she's gone... she can't do that... and I don't want you to do nothing but cry all day. I... I want my daddy back..." still choked up, I buried my face in his chest and continued crying... If he was going to move, right then was the perfect time.

He gripped me a little tighter and I quieted somewhat, ready to listen to what he was going to say. Tears were still flowing freely from my eyes, soaking his shirt.

"Akane-chan..." I perked up, ready to listen, "I know you're right... you're mother was right. I really should be there for you girls... I just don't think I can do it just yet..."

I pulled away gently and looked him in the eye, a scowl on my face. "Then you can take one more week. I don't care what you do; go talk to her at the grave, pray at the shrine, whatever! Just make sure that you can be our daddy again... okay?"

He took one more deep breath and looked me back in the eye, "I'll try, Akane-chan. I really will."

For a while after that, we just sat there. Then, when I felt comfortable with it, I decided to go out to the dojo to practice on my own. Just because he wasn't there didn't mean I couldn't keep practicing.

The next day he took us all out to mama's grave, and while we waited outside with Mister Tanaka, he apologized to her. He didn't think we could hear, being outside on the other side of a concrete wall... but I could, thanks in part to my training. I don't know what he was apologizing for exactly, but I knew that he was saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry' over and over again. I'm not sure how long we stood there waiting for him to finish, but eventually he apparently cried himself out and joined back up with us again…

Soon after, he joined me in training. It still took him time to actually teach, and it was uncomfortable for a while, but we eventually got back into the routine.

Of course, being our father meant more than just being my sensei. It also meant he was the enforcer for the rules that mama had set up long ago. It wouldn't do to have only Kasumi doing the cleaning, so we were expected to _all_ do our share.

Personally, I really didn't mind at all; that simply solved another problem. (And I'd had nothing to do with it, either...)

--

In elementary school, my youngest years of social interaction, I found myself at a kind of loss as to what I wanted to do. I really wanted to spend almost all of my time practicing my art, and in fact, I usually did find ways to do just this. But I also wanted someone to talk to, someone to whom I could trust my thoughts, someone to call my friends.

Of course, there wasn't really all that much thought involved in the process that early on in life as to actually obtaining prospective friends; all you really had to do was say, "Hey, I'm Akane, wanna play?" But even then I knew what kind of people I was looking for; I _did_ gather a small group of people around me, some of which were boys, and the rest of which were very much tomboys.

It didn't even take three years for the social lines to be rather obviously drawn in the sand, though, and boys were really not allowed to play with girls, and vice-versa; so I ended up spending my 'friend time' with my tomboy friends. Oddly enough, two of those girls had names (not that the others didn't, I just can't remember them now), and very well were likely to be the same girls who had been mentioned in the life of the original. They had been the most loyal of my friends and, out of a group of ten, only we three really ended up calling each other 'best friends'. Their names were Yuka and Sayuri.

Sooner or later puberty set in and we were suddenly being expected to act more feminine, like 'real' girls. For the first year or so all three of us fought it practically tooth-and-nail.

And then that changed. There was no particular reason, nor any signal to start doing it, but suddenly becoming 'real' girls became something of a game, rather than something to be hated... We would challenge each other to see how far we would really go. One day one of us would show up after school was out still wearing a skirt, and the rest of us would laugh about the novelty of it, but would eventually end up doing the same, if only to show that we wouldn't be shown up (I was especially bad about this...). This combined with pressure from my sisters at home produced a 'me' that was only slightly less feminine than the original Akane. (Or perhaps even more so? I don't know...)

But along with this growth came other things, things I found just plain distasteful and _really_ didn't want to participate in; inevitably, the topic of many conversations ended up turning to boys.

At first, when Yuka had brought up the subject, I had reacted with surprise and a little confusion; these two were two girls I had never expected to become boy-crazy! But with female hormones raging so powerfully, both of the girls I had expected to be tomboys forever from time to time ended up giggling uncontrollably while talking about some boy or another.

I usually tuned out during these conversations, my full concentration instead going to my 'energy'; by this time I had a _lot_ of energy, and sometimes it was almost difficult to keep track of it all, despite all my skill and practice, so when I was like this I would only answer direct questions, using the minimum brainpower required.

But anyway, back on topic. When the feeling I gave off about not being 'interested', and therefore not 'available' had actually permeated through my classmates, and even to the classes above mine, I suddenly became very desirable. Apparently, not looking to the boys, while still not being lesbian (no one, not even myself, was entirely sure about this one, and it wasn't as if I'd tell my classmates anyway) made me into some kind of prize. Every boy, and some girls, wanted my attentions.

At first I simply burned the piles of love-notes left on my desk, incinerating them with my energy; after a while I started putting them in the recycle bin, to be reused to assault me again another day.

But with each rejection came more fervent attempts; and the longer I held onto my stand of having no relationship, the more I got teased because of it.

Finally, one day right at the start of my freshman year at Furinkan High, I relented. There were a number of reasons I decided to make a choice; the first and most obvious was to stop the teasing; the second and more important reason was to finally be able to say that I was 'taken' and be able to finally be left alone.

I put all the boys through a vigorous evaluation before I finally came up with someone who looked 'safe'; he had asked me to see a movie, and I agreed.

The movie had been boring as heck, and it was rather obvious that the guy hadn't actually put much thought into the encounter as he had bought tickets to a romance movie. They may have been boy-crazy from time to time, but even Yuka and Sayuri didn't much care for the kissy-kissy movies.

I had known, logically, that he was going to try a move on me, and I had come prepared for it. Like an annoying fly, I swatted the offending hand away. That was the first time.

By the seventh attempt I had to be more direct, taking his hand and placing it back in his own space. Despite that I was offended, I _wasn't_ going to be as short-fused as that '_other_' Akane.

But by fifteen I had decided I'd had enough. "One more time and I'm going to break it!" I hissed as I roughly shoved his hand back into his own lap. I think my glowing eyes may have scared him shitless as he almost immediately excused himself to the restroom. I could clearly sense the fear practically flowing off of him in waves. It was with no little satisfaction that I tracked his signature until it stopped moving. There was something pertaining to relief in his aura, and then he came back to his seat, much more humble.

And then I smelled something funny. For a moment I wondered who let one go, but if someone had, I hadn't noticed, and I noticed practically _everything_.

Looking at the apprehensive look on _his_ face, I took a closer look at his aura. There was still a good amount of fear there, but there was also something else. There was... relief?

With a thought, I could only think of a few things that would make a boy feel such long-lasting relief, and going number two wasn't one of them. Taking another sniff or two of the smell, I finally knew what was making it.

Sickened, although not really surprised, I became angry, and I think it showed. In fact, I think I was probably glowing red by the time I reached over and whispered in his ear.

"Don't abuse it, or you'll lose it."

I then stood up, and politely excused myself from the theater. The movie was a bust anyway, and I didn't really feel like waiting the half-hour till it ended.

Not even a full week after that day, Tatewaki Kuno, the self-proclaimed 'Champion' of Furinkan High School, and resident complete moron, made his declaration.

That brought one phrase to mind, the revelation that I had managed to mimic the events that had led to Akane's almost brutal situation in the original story. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same. Kami, I never knew I was so much like Akane... or maybe it's just the people around me that's to blame?'

The day after, I came to school fully prepared for the group of boys, which was more of a mob really. They didn't forget that day, neither did most of them actually bother me much since that first day...

------ End Chapter 1 ------

That's it for now. Next chapter will finally get the series started and we get to see how things are better, as well as how they're worse. And we'll even get to see how things are generally more complicated, won't we?

Refinishing Note: Well, after editing this thing I think for the tenth time, I think it's just about ready for showing. Originally, I wrote it sometime in 2003, back when Sleepingbear was still working on the original version of his own SI (He's now made an updated one, which I recommend as good reading), and when I had first started toying with the idea of making an SI. Part of this toying was a decision: Should I make an OC, or use a ready-made character that most readers would be familiar with? At the time I wasn't entirely comfortable with making an OC, for reasons I won't go into now, but when I chose to use one of the Ranma ½ staff, I still had to figure who I would make it as. My first choice, of course, was Ranma himself, but then I figured that Ranma was messed with enough and decided to leave him alone. After Ranma came Ryoga, but I dismissed him in part because... well, I actually kinda like him how he is, really, but wouldn't want to be him. I then looked to Shampoo (a thought that actually produced a workable piece, the influence of which upon this story may be revealed much, much later on), and after Shampoo came Akane. For this piece, I chose Akane in part because she seems to be the _least_ liked of the main cast (short of the Kuno's or Happosai, and personally... there's just no way, no), and I felt that there was great potential in her, she was simply too scarred while at the same time being too naïve (among other things). Akane has always struck a chord with me, so when I started with this SI, even I was amazed at how easy it was to produce, and how vividly it seemed to come to me. It made such an effect that the original version of chapter two (which you will not see on in _ANY_ form), even though it was cut, has maintained itself as a kind of 'stepping stone' toward all of my writings ever since. As this story progresses, I can only hope that you find it at least interesting, even if not as endearing as I have found it to be myself.

That's all for now.

12/15/2004 'finished v0.8'

11/27/2005 'finished v0.9'

11/29/2005 'finished v0.91'

Alex Ultra: Lost in a Chaotic World

LATER


	2. That Fateful Day

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Who in their right mind would think I own it? Gimme a break, ne?

Release Note: The document submitter is giving me headaches, because it just isn't working; what you're reading here is a copy-paste of the contents into a previously-uploaded document that never got used. I hope the submitter will start working eventually, but regardless, that's the reason this is so late (I'd intended to upload it much earlier).

Author's Notes at the end of the chapter.

Words Of Wisdom

"Rather than dwelling on what could have been, let's dwell on what could be." - Alex Ultra

"A dream not acted out is just that, a dream." - Take on an Old Proverb

"Who says that's got to be a bad thing?" - Alex Ultra .

A calm demeanor may hide a chaotic mind, but sometimes things are just chaotic. I don't know when they've ever been truly calm, though.

------ That Fateful Day ------

That morning I had been caught up in a complex kata when my family had called out to me. I was so caught up in it that I don't think I would have been able to hear them even if I had been expecting it, though, so I didn't hear it.

When I finally came down from the exercise Nabiki was looking at me wryly. "Really, Akane. No wonder everybody thinks you're weird..."

"Oh like I care what 'everybody' thinks..." I turned my eyes to her in disdain.

"Oh? Then I guess you don't want to know..." Nabiki turned away with that flippant noselessness that said she knew something that I didn't.

Taken aback, I blinked in surprise, "Know what?" 'Is it really that time?'

--

I listened impassively as my family talked rapid-fire among each other.

"So how long?"

"I don't know for sure, as I only received the postcard this morning."

"Is he cute?"

"Oh I hope he's older, younger men bore me."

Both of my older sisters moved in to daddy's face, "Just what kind of boy is this Ranma!?"

Daddy chuckled once or twice before adopting a serious look. "No idea."

"No idea?"

"I've never met him!"

Before I could even comment to myself about the familiarity of the scene playing out before me, a pair of firm-yet-gentle knocks came from the door. Shrugging off the odd feeling that I got from the events, I got up to get the door.

My loving sister Nabiki and my dear father both cut me to the punch however, as their excitement got the better of them and they practically ran to get the door.

I sighed, 'Here we go...'

"AAAHHH!!! AKANE SAVE ME!!"

My right eye twitched. My sister Nabiki wasn't what one would call a 'Martial Artist', as she only practiced the forms to keep her body in shape. So it was no surprise that the large, almost grim-looking panda chasing her made her afraid. No... but the fact was that she hadn't shouted out to me, she was too stoic and controlled for that. What bothered me was that it had been my father and sensei, Head of the Tendo clan and founder of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, who had shouted like a little girl and come running with tears streaming down his face so that he might cry and hide behind me like a human shield.

Before anything could be said, though, the package adorning the panda's shoulder suddenly awakened and began shouting and hitting the large creature over the head, which stunned it enough to take a sudden second look at what it was doing. After a moment of thought, it decided to plant its cargo on its feet in front of my father.

Seeing a human having been placed before him, Soun did the natural thing and started making strange assumptions. (Natural for Nerima, mind you.) "Are you...?"

Ranma began playing with her pigtail, "Ranma Saotome... sorry about this..."

"AH-HOH! I'VE WAITED SO LONG!!!" Daddy was suddenly lost in reverie, tears streaming dramatically down his face. He soon found himself without words to describe what he felt, so he simply stood there holding the hapless, obviously painfully twitching girl tightly enough to cause her to turn blue.

"Uh, daddy?" I moved under the range of his left elbow, leaning forward. Coincidentally, I also got a good look at the form that he held captive within his deceptively strong arms. Somewhere deep down... I was a little jealous. "That's a girl..."

"Hmm?" He then took Ranma by the shoulders and looked her over. "So it is..." He then moved in close to her face and voiced his concern, "Are you a girl?"

Ranma scowled rather forcefully, "I ain't no dang girl! Okay?"

Before I could do or say anything, Nabiki suddenly pulled up the front of Ranma's shirt, exposing her rather... well-endowed chest. "Looks like a girl to me."

"HAY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE-" **Pfump** "He fainted..."

I nodded, "Yeah, he does that sometimes. Like when his entire world suddenly turns upside down, or a girl exposes her chest. You'll learn to get used to it."

"Hey, I ain't gettin' used ta nothin! This place is kinda nice, but I really gotta go and get cured of this damn curse."

"Curse?" Confused, my eldest sister voiced her concern. Understandably, she didn't want a curse disturbing the household's spirit.

**Hot water please!!**

"EEEE!" Kasumi backed up a couple of steps as a rather large panda sign was shoved directly in her face, not even a full moment after she voiced her concern. "I sure hope this panda is a trained one!"

"What?" Ranma took the sign from the panda and read it, "Uh, he means that we need some hot water... Don't worry, it'll explain itself."

"Well, alright, so long as he's a trained panda..." Ranma nodded fervently, throwing that red pigtail of hers flying around wildly, and Kasumi went into the kitchen, soon coming back out with a kettle of steaming hot water ready.

The panda quickly took the hot water and poured it over its shoulder. It quickly shrank, becoming a stockily built man in a dirty yellow gi with a pair of glasses rubber-banded to his ears. (A/N: Sometimes, I wonder if those glasses of his are just for looks, or if they really are a weakness that could be exploited in him... _Begins thinking about it..._)

"Thank you, young girl. And now my _son!_" The man handed the kettle to the girl, who almost reluctantly took the kettle and poured it over her shoulder.

After Ranma did his little trick, Kasumi gave an "Oh my!" and then sat down on a couch, fanning herself over.

Nabiki took a more 'I have to see this myself' perspective, and quickly went in toward the taller boy and then used both hands to check his chest.

Ranma began stuttering, "Uh-h-h, n-not that I m-mind, but, uh, c-could you...?"

The old man got a wry smile and moved beside Ranma, "Looks like you've got a friend! And so quickly! HAHA!!"

"Huh? ACK!" Nabiki quickly put her hands at her side and went to join Kasumi, blushing bright red, much like Ranma, who was busy pummeling his father.

I chuckled, 'It looks like we'll get along just fine...'

"Say, Ranma. You practice Martial Arts, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"Would you like to spar? We can go to the dojo if you like." Personally, I preferred the open air, but as this was our first meeting, I opted to go to the dojo instead. It seemed much more... proper that way.

Ranma shrugged, he apparently didn't really care where he fought, so a dojo must have been fine. "Sure."

"Go easy on him, Akane." Oddly, it was Nabiki this time who voiced concern for our guest.

As my only response, I waved my sister's way as I walked calmly out to the dojo.

--

He stood across from me, holding that pose that he was so well known for, that non-pose that was meant to make someone think he didn't know what he was doing. But I could see his energy, and it betrayed him. He wasn't really tense, which meant he probably didn't see any real threat in me, but he was prepared to move quickly and at any moment. His un-pose was really a very effective pose for someone as balanced as he obviously was.

Myself, I took a simple modified crane stance, something first year students are taught, with only slight modification.

We waited. We each waited for the other to make the first move. Not a single word went between us for a good minute or so as we waited. And we waited. Wait we did. Motionless contemplation of everything that was waiting.

In the end, I proved to have more patience than he did, and after a while he made his move.

Turning in one direction, he started strafing around me, attempting to get behind me. I didn't make a move to attempt to turn, even going so far as to leave my eyes off of him completely. He moved silently, but I could still hear him, if only barely. And with his energy signature burning brightly, I could track him easily that way.

Bending over, I missed the open-palm meant for my back. If it had connected, it would only have pushed me forward and dealt no damage. That meant he still didn't want to hit me, probably because I was a girl. That was fine, for now, but I'd have to deal with it... later.

At the moment, I was in a fight. Shifting my right foot, I quickly turned my torso so as to swing my right arm in a wide arc, nearly catching him in the stomach. When I caught the look on his face, he had been somewhat surprised, but at least not disappointed or annoyed. I'd missed him, but only barely.

He took another non-stance and started dancing back and forth, moving from one foot to the other, keeping contact with the floor only through his toes. His eyes, however, were locked on me; and to his credit, they were watching my eyes, and not my chest.

This time I took the initiative to make an attack. I got in close to him rather quickly; enough to give him pause, and went into a volley of punches and kicks, which he dodged rather nimbly. As he backed away and turned around me I continued to follow him and change my attacks; I kept this up until he seemed to be getting into the pace of my onslaught; as strange a thing as it would seem, in Anything Goes changing pace and adapting constantly is quite literally a pace in itself.

I then changed my tactics completely and simply jumped low at him with my arms out wide and both my legs coiled for one big hit.

He was surprised, but not caught off guard. I kicked first with my right foot, which he dodged by falling to his left, which forced my hand as he had moved out of range for the second hit. Rather than giving up on the move, I twisted my torso violently to the right and struck out behind myself with my left foot, aiming for his stomach, which surprisingly made contact!

The hit was just hard enough to push me away from him; though I was prepared to follow up the strike with quick spin-kick on my right heel, I took the chance to get back on my center all the same. When I came at him again, he immediately rolled out of the way, simultaneously swinging one leg around in an attempt to pull my feet out from under me.

I then found that my feet were swinging helplessly off to one side. To someone who hadn't been bested like that in more than a year it was an admittedly odd feeling, though not totally foreign.

Reacting quickly I took my lower hand and rebounded off the floor, not sticking around long enough for him to kick that out as well. Landing solidly on my feet, I returned to the attack while he was still coming back to the stand. I'd managed to get in a couple of small strikes on his chest before he pulled on my arm, trapping it. He had apparently misjudged me, though, having thought I wouldn't be ready for a throw, which suddenly left him with an arm he didn't know what to do with and me wondering what he was going to do next; we were both unable to do any more until this particular encounter was resolved.

With the realization of this he did what the Anything Goes School teaches most intrinsically, he improvised; changing his throw into a grab he strengthened his grip on my arm and turned it forcefully in one direction. I, in response, leapt over the axis of the turn and aimed a pock-shot kick for his chest, which was just forceful enough to make him let go of his hold.

"COME ON BOY! YOU CAN'T LOSE TO A GIRL!!!"

Ranma was suddenly put off balance as an unexpected shout disturbed the fight, "POPS! What are you doing in here!?!?"

"You're losing boy! TO A GIRL!! You can do better than that!"

Ranma seemed flustered for a moment, and then yelled angrily at his father, "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!? SHE'S A GIRL!!!"

"YOU SEE!? YOU CAN'T LOSE TO A-_**TONG!!!**_" A large wooden ball hit him in the head, after I had thrown it at him.

Now it was my turn to yell at the panda man, "YOU IDIOT! I HAD HIM _THIS CLOSE_ TO FORGETTING I WAS A GIRL! AND YOU RUINED IT!!!"

Mister Saotome quickly recovered and glared at me, "STAY OUT OF THIS _GIRL!_" A good amount of venom was put on the word 'girl', as if it were a curse of some kind. "THIS IS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MEN!" _WHACK!!_

"Saotome, I would appreciate it if you would show my daughters _some_ respect, besides, it was their fight, we had no right to interfere."

"But... Tendo!"

"Mister Saotome, you really shouldn't have interrupted, and you really shouldn't make Akane angry with you." Kasumi glanced warily at me, "Things have a way of... happening, when she's angry." Not that she really cared. It just sometimes made things get... messy. And of all things, she liked messes the least. (Notice that there are very few things she actually dislikes...)

I smirked, "Yeah. You're making me angry! You wouldn't _like_ me... when I'm angry!! Heh... heheh... hehEHAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!" I cracked up at my joke, which only I actually understood.

Nabiki sweat dropped and kept snapping pictures of... well, of all of us. Who knows when something might become a Kodak(tm) moment, right? And it's not like she was making posters and selling them at school... nope, not her...

"Oh please! What could a little _girl_ do that my boy couldn't, eh?"

I crossed my arms, "You'd be surprised..." I followed this with an evil grin that made my family cringe. "Not all things are done with the fist."

Daddy took Mister Saotome by the shoulder and started dragging him out of the dojo back to the house, "Come, Saotome. We have much to catch up on. Let's leave the children to themselves, okay?"

Genma shrugged, "All right. Care to try a game of Shogi?"

"Indeed, Saotome."

I watched as the two fathers walked back to the house. Kasumi turned to us, bowed, and then left for the house as well. Nabiki stayed where she was, believing herself to be hidden.

--

Upending a bucket over my head, I shivered violently as the cold water rushed down my body. Once that had mostly passed, I began to scrub. I scrubbed hard and with rhythmic steadiness. I scrubbed until my entire body was raw, as was my habit. And then I rinsed.

I then turned my attention to my hair. I preferred it short, but it was still in a girl's cut, as Kasumi wouldn't have it any other way. And as with most girl's cuts, it took plenty of maintenance (lest it begin to frizz and tangle), and the number one requirement was that it be periodically cleaned of the sweat and grime I often picked up during sparring and/or practice.

Once I was satisfactorily clean, I lowered myself into the furo to soak. At first, suddenly immersing myself in the (very) hot water was like stepping into a fire to my raw skin; but as always, I persisted and was rewarded with the relaxation that always came from a good soak in hot water.

Even my heart, which had been racing before, slowly calmed and settled into a rhythm of slow, though powerful beats; each one of which I could feel across my entire body as the blood was forced through my veins and arteries.

I had things to do, but they were for later. For now, I would sit here...

'I wonder if Ranma will come barging in here?' The idea had crossed my mind... and honestly, I was almost hoping he would.

Almost as if on cue, I heard someone enter the changing room. I waited quietly for them to finish, and then listened as he (at least I _assumed_ it was him) opened the door (behind me).

Looking back, it seemed that Ranma and her father had at some point made contact with cold water.

Ranma's face became immediately beet red as her panda's eyes closed and open repeatedly.

**Sorry, we didn't realize it was occupied.** _flip_ **We'll get some hot water in the kitchen.**

Then the panda closed the door, after which I heard some more shuffling followed by the outer door opening and closing.

I spent the next few minutes mulling over Ranma's reaction. 'We can't have Ranma reacting like that when she looks in the mirror, can we?' I didn't really want to admit to the fact that my long-suppressed hormones were reacting rather violently to the thought of being in a room, naked, with a boy; even when 'he' was a 'she' at the time. It didn't help that I wasn't sure if I was really gay or straight, either.

'Man, being a teenager, again, really sucks.'

--

Daddy smiled toward his old friend as the Saotome's came into the Common Room, returning from their forced trip to the furo (not truly forced, but it's hard to say no to Kasumi when she's being insistent), "Well Saotome, how about explaining these 'curses' of yours, now that we're all situated?"

Mr. Saotome nodded as he and Ranma sat down, "Ah yes, of course. Well, how should I start?"

It was here where my eldest sister decided to voice her question, "If you don't mind, was this an accident, or purposeful?"

Mr. Saotome nodded again, "A good question. Let's see..." He then grabbed Ranma by the back of his shirt and chucked him into the koi pond in the back yard. I'm not entirely sure how this was intended to answer the question given to him.

"WAGH!" _Sploosh!_

It was a ticked-off, well-endowed, and apparently cold redhead that emerged from the water, "What the heck d'ya think yer doin', old man!?"

My family seemed gave Genma a slightly disbelieving look, while Mr. Saotome only seemed chagrined, "What a shame! My only son becomes a cute little girl!" I didn't see what was wrong with being cute, but I could admit that Ranma's loss of several centimeters in height and unknown kilos in weight must have been difficult for him to deal with.

"And what the hell're ya talkin' about, old man? This is _YOUR_ fault!" Ranma wasn't fighting just yet, but I could tell that she... er, he was close.

"Quiet, boy! Weren't you prepared to give your life for the Art!?"

One of Ranma's eyes twitched, and I saw a bucket seemingly materialize in her hand as she scooped up some pond-water, "My life? Yes. My _manhood is another question!!_" In no time flat, the elder Saotome was turned into a panda and the both of them started scrabbling at each other.

Taking it upon myself, I went to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water, which I heated with my chi as I took it back to the gathering. I then up-ended it over Mr. Saotome's head, causing him to quite literally jump away from the sting of it. "Ah! It needn't be quite _that_ hot!"

With this I shrugged and voiced the logical connection, "So cold water changes you into your cursed forms, and hot water changes you back?"

Ranma-chan eyed me cautiously, "Yeah. But I think it just has ta' be 'real warm' instead'a, like, boiling hot."

I smirked wryly, "So I get it that you don't like it, Ranma, but your father never answered the question; did you mean for this to happen, Mr. Saotome?" I had my arms crossed over my stomach as I looked Genma in the eye. I nodded, "And how did you manage to get these curses? Anger a priest?" I said this in jest, but with the honest intent of getting an answer.

Mr. Saotome nodded, "Several, though that is neither here nor there." My knees nearly buckled from beneath me as I wondered if Genma had ever heard of 'sarcasm' before.

Daddy nodded, "Yes, Saotome; tell us how this happened!"

Genma nodded sagely, "You see, it all happened when we stopped at a lost training ground deep in China..."

--

**Insert long-winded regurgitation of Jusenkyo Scene here**

--

Nabiki was the first to sum up what we'd been told, "So, this all happened because you went to Jusenkyo?"

Genma nodded, "Unfortunately, yes."

I wasn't too surprised, having familiarized myself with the story so well that I could have told it myself, and my sisters were similarly accepting, already familiar with Jusenkyo through me, though for some reason daddy didn't seem to be all that pleased with current events.

It was then that I noticed something... "Hey, Mr. Saotome?"

"Yes?"

"Is Ranma asleep?"

Mr. Saotome looked down at his prone... daughter, and frowned, "Yes he is." He then grabbed the girl, hoisted her up, and threw her out to the backyard and into the koi pond.

When she came back up, she was irate but unchanged, "HEY! WHAT THE HELL'S YOUR PROBLEM!?"

"Who told you to go to sleep!?"

"Well it's not like I could help it with that fairy-tale you were spoutin'!"

"Quiet boy! It is time now!"

Daddy suddenly stood, wrapping an arm around Genma's shoulders, "YES SAOTOME, of course! Ranma, come here won't you?"

For a moment, Ranma had an almost frightened look about her, but she bravely walked up to daddy anyway.

"Now then. Akane, age sixteen." Daddy pointed at me, and I smirked with amusement. I'm not really sure why I did, but I had to admit that the scene did look rather amusing to me. "Nabiki, age seventeen." Nabiki looked Ranma over with a critical eye; I couldn't tell what she was thinking, or even if she _was_ thinking, but I believe she liked what she saw... er, more likely remembered since Ranma was a girl at the time... "And Kasumi, age nineteen." Kasumi smiled and nodded her head demurely, politely greeting the man who might wed her or one of her sisters and who was a girl at the moment.

Father slammed both arms down on Ranma's shoulders as a gesture to get her attention, "Pick any one you want and she shall be your wife!"

"Huh?"

And with that, the room went silent until daddy decided that Ranma needed him to repeat what he'd said. "Pick any one you want, and she shall be your wife."

"Um, daddy?"

"Not now Akane, Ranma's making a decision!"

"Daddy, you're being stupid again."

Daddy looked up at me like he'd noticed me for the first time, "Oh? How so?"

I sighed, not letting Nabiki take this one, "First: We don't know Ranma at all. Second: You barely know Ranma at all. Third: Ranma doesn't know any of us. How is Ranma to make a good decision when he doesn't know anything? How are we to know to be comfortable with this? And lastly, how do _YOU_ know that Ranma is the right kind of person to... wed your daughter." I tried to end the sentence on a note that would denote thought, but somehow wasn't satisfied with what I'd come up with.

"I assure you, Tendo, that Ranma is a man amongst men..." nobody noticed my cringe, "... he is a _perfect_ choice to wed your daughter! And then they will have a child, and the schools will be joined!"

I was so angry with Genma about the 'have a child' crack that I didn't notice as my father developed stars before his eyes. "The schools will be joined! Quickly Ranma, choose your bride!"

"HEY! I AIN'T GONNA-"

"Father! Such, such... ooh!"

"Daddy, you're an idi-"

"_Faaaaa-ther..._"

"MARRY NOBODY!!! Hey, why's everybody stopped all of a sudden?" Ranma seemed puzzled that daddy and my sisters seemed unmoving, though I guess I wouldn't be surprised.

It was with hooded eyes and a quickly darkening expression that I addressed my father, "Father, must I really bring the Seven Days of Haunting?"

That did the trick, almost instantly daddy locked up, holding Ranma tightly by the shoulders, until greater brain functions began returning to him and he started stammering. It took a few moments before he was able to get out any sensible words.

"S-saoto-me, maybe we should, um, wait until... ah, wait for them to graduate! Yes! That will give them the time to get to know one another!"

"Tendo? Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

It was then that daddy became serious as he looked down toward his old friend, "Saotome, you remember my old 'Demon Head' technique?"

"Yes, of course; I helped you perfect it!"

"Akane is my heir, just as Ranma is yours."

I waited, and I watched, but I don't believe I saw any realization in Genma's eyes, "Of course! They should be wed! Your heir with my heir! Tendo with Saotome ryu's! The School of Anything Goes will be wondrous beyond comparison!"

Idly, I sidled up to Ranma's side, "Is he always like this?"

"Only all the time." Then Ranma got angry, "DAMMIT POPS, I AIN'T GONNA MARRY NOBODY!"

Frustrated, I decided to be the bigger one in the room and meet everyone half-way, though it gave me a great headache, "How about we just call us affianced? Give it some time before going to the altar, and besides, I'm kind of curious to see what the Saotome Ryu has to offer..." I offered an almost predatory eye toward Ranma, who appeared to not know exactly how to take the offer.

"H-hey, what?"

"Wonderful! Akane shall be Ranma's fiancée! A match made in Heaven if ever I saw one!"

Genma, for a short time, was alone in his celebrations, before a quick glance my way prompted daddy to join him. "Indeed Saotome! My daughter seems to have taken a liking to your son like no other boy I've seen! It must truly be fate at work!"

"Come! Let us celebrate!"

"SAKE! YES! GOOD LORD YES!"

"Ha, I like your enthusiasm, but must you yell so loud?"

"VOLUME MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER, SAOTOME!"

"Ah... right. At any rate, TO CELEBRATION!"

And thus both fathers jauntily sauntered out the room to find a door to the outside, already acting for all intents and purposes as if they were dead-drunk. But just why did they have to walk outside? Well, Kasumi didn't allow father to keep alcohol in the house, that's why.

As I watched the fathers make a jagged path to wherever they were going, I shuffled in my place next to Ranma. "Have you ever felt like you just missed something important?"

"Every day of my life."

"Yeah, glad to know I'm not alone in that."

"Yeah..."

"Wanna spar?"

"Sure."

And thus normal operations continued.

-- That Night --

'I'm not really sure why, but somehow that seemed to go better than it should have...' I folded up my robe as I pulled my duck-jammies into place. 'Weird though, I honestly didn't know the Seven Days had that much effect on daddy... Oh well, I'm sure Genma-san will be hearing some of it soon enough... although... I wonder if... um, their master will make an appearance? What was his name? ... Hypocrite? ... Something about a Hippo, I think? Shoot, now that's going to bother me... oh well, best not to think about it, it'll come to me in time.'

As I contemplated things, I idly wound the old clock that I only really kept because my mother had given it to me before her death. 'Hmm... should I practice my meditations tonight? Might as well...'

Looking around my room, I tried to measure how it had changed with the day; I knew that it would, ever so slightly, with the house's Wa changing with the new additions, after all. I also idly wondered when daddy would be coming back home...

'A passive aura would be best for a night like this... it would do to keep an eye on things anyway.'

And thus I went into the restful meditation that I had chosen to take the place of sleep; a mediocre way to end an exciting day.

------ End Chapter 2 ------

Author's Notes:

Woot! I thought it would never end! Well, that's that; the Tendo's and Saotome's are introduced, and it could have gone better! Come to think of it, it probably could have made more sense, but meh.

This chapter was actually written in at least four different parts; the original creative burst, a second creative burst, a 'come back to it because it's been too long and it's still a solid story' for the third part, and a 'determined to at least finish the second chapter because there's no way I'm going to just let this one rot' for the last part and the finish! WOO!

... Yeah, that's really how I work. Also, note the date put right here: Sunday, November 27, 2005 (That's the date this became 'finished v1.0')

This story will have a lot of things, and out of all of these things, as could be expected from a Ranma 1/2 story, I see romance in the future. Personally, I could have half the world obsessing over me and stay totally ignorant of it, and I don't see Akane being much different, especially with the distraction that Martial Arts would provide. As for pairings, however... I'm not really sure; I could take suggestions, but in the end it mostly depends on the flow of the story and interactions between characters. But I can say that it is highly unlikely that I'll say 'These two belong together' and stick them together, that's just not Ranma-like to me; it works in some, even many stories, but I'm not going to go out of my way to resolve some pairing or another; after all, nothing is ever truly easy in Ranma 1/2. :P

And finally, I think I'm going to update Sundays for some reason; I have a bunch of chapters that just need cleaned up a bit, so with that I'm good for a while and there'll be more to read.

Anyway, comments, criticism, flames, praise, say something would ya'?

Alex Ultra: As If I Would Change My Name

LATER


	3. A Thesis

Disclaimer: No, daddy, I didn't drink Mr. Panda's water, honest! _Hic_

------ A Thesis ------

Ranma walked along the fence as I walked down the sidewalk. There was nothing out of the ordinary, the scene and the time was perfectly normal…

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I blinked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Yer' distant, like yer' workin' on a real hard technique."

I blinked again, "Ranma, have you ever heard of 'Deep in thought'?" His blank look told me that he probably hadn't, and I sighed, "Anyway, you're right, I'm working on a technique, just like you are with your balance."

"Huh? What technique is'at? You ain't doin' nothing?"

I shrugged, "Levitation."

Suddenly locking up in surprise, Ranma then fell off of the fence, falling into… somebody's yard, and missing a drainage ditch by a good hundred or so meters. Once he'd recovered, he poked his head back over the fence, "LEVITATION!? You're kidding, right!?"

I shook my head 'no', "Look at my feet; and I mean really closely."

Grumpily, he did just that… and after a few seconds, actually got down on the ground to look at my feet… only to discover that they weren't touching the ground. "What the Hell!?"

"HALT, FOUL KNAVE!! SEEKING TO ADVANTAGE THE FAIR, BEAUTEOUS TIGRESS AKANE!? I, THE SHOOTING STAR OF FURINKAN HIGH SHALL, IN THE NAME OF MY BELOVED'S HONOR, SHALL SMITE YOU VERILY!!!"

I sighed as Tatewaki Kuno began running from somewhere down the street, directly toward Ranma and I. 'I should have seen this one coming. And did he say 'shall' twice?'(1)

Though he was confused, Ranma at least had the sense to recognize a challenge when he heard it. "Heh, you wanna fight? Let's see what you can do!"

Kuno-sempai quickly moved between Ranma and myself, looking for all intents and purposes as if he were trying to defend my honor, "Worry not, for you shall soon see! As divine as justice itself, I STRI-HURK!" Kuno was then interrupted by a sharp pull on the lapel of his shirt, courtesy of my hand's firm grip. Turning a confused look my way, Kuno wondered why I had interrupted him, "Tendo Akane?"

I shook my head, "It can wait 'till after school, Kuno-sempai. Besides, he didn't do anything wrong, he was looking at my feet, not my panties." As I said this I could see a look of recognition come across Kuno's face as a similar look came across Ranma's, though what he was realizing I couldn't be sure about.

"I see, apologies are in order then. I am sorry, Tendo Akane, for jumping to conclusions."

"Hey! Shouldn't you be apologizin' ta' me!?" Ranma did have good reason to believe this.

Kuno, however, didn't think so, "What is your name, plebian, and why would you act so familiarly with Tendo Akane!?"

I sighed as I saw the defiant streak appear in Ranma's face, "I'm Saotome Ranma, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and my pop an' hers are old trainin' buddies!"

I nodded as I rapped Kuno on the arm, "Yeah, they'll be staying with us for a while; our fathers are also looking to 'Join the Schools'." In retrospect, I'm not entirely sure if I should have said this or not. "Anyway, aside from your outburst moments ago, I think it's high-time you introduced yourself properly, Kuno-sempai?"

"Of course. I am Kuno Tatewaki, rising star of the Kendo world, Champion of the Furinkan High School Kendo team, and the Shooting Star of Furinkan High!" Somehow, Kuno managed to end his tirade just as a bolt of lightning crashed somewhere in the near distance, creating quite a dramatic scene.

I then idly noted, "It looks like rain. We really should hurry."

That was Ranma's cue, "Yeah, c'mon, let's go!" He then leapt to the fence and waited for Kuno and I to start off before starting off himself. The rest of the way to the school, I could periodically catch Kuno's eye going up to Ranma up on the fence, who was acting for all intents and purposes like nothing was wrong, and I'm sure that irritated Kuno somewhere deep down.

Pushing ourselves to miss the rain, we three started running faster and faster until we finally reached our destination just before the major downpour.

"Well, that was fun, but let's go inside now…" Opening the door, I went to lead the others inside.

"Wait! You're a woman?"

I blinked as Ranma exclaimed, "I ain't no woman!"

Turning around, I found that Ranma had, apparently, gotten wet enough to trigger his curse. "Didn't make it soon enough, huh?"

Looking first with surprise, then with chagrin at his shirt, Ranma nodded, "Yeah, apparently. I'll be right back."

"Hey wait! Where do you think you're going?" I yelled after Ranma, seeing that he was going the wrong way.

"Back to the dojo, I can't show up like this!"

"Why not? Besides, you can change back as soon as you're introduced."

"Why would you want to change? I think you're perfectly lovely just as you are!" Kuno, of course, most likely had the wrong idea, but apparently decided to break into the conversation anyway, and of course he had a wide-eyed compliment.

Ranma grumped as she forced her way inside, "Yeah, well I ain't no girl, and I don't want anybody thinkin' I am."

"Ranma, a quick question…" One finger in the air, I voiced my concern…

"What?"

"How did you get so wet so fast? Kuno and I are almost totally dry?" It didn't make sense, after all!

Ranma snorted, "The stupid curse practically pulls water to me, seems like I can't go a full day without bein' changed."

"Water does this?" Kuno actually poked Ranma with his bokken, idly noting that she really was a woman.

Ranma sighed, "Yeah, cold water turns me into a girl, all girl. Go ahead and laugh."

"Why would I laugh?" Kuno was well and truly confused.

Ranma, also, adopted a confused look, "You mean you aren't?"

Kuno smiled, "Of course not! A woman being ashamed of her appearance is perfectly natural! And though I am confused as to why you would desire to hide your beauty behind the visage of a man, know that I pledge my assistance to you to make your stay here at Furinkan to be as… pleasant as possible! Fair maiden…" He then took Ranma's hand and kissed it, giving Ranma a visible case of the shivers before walking off to his own classroom somewhere further into the school.

Ranma only stared as Kuno walked away; I believe that she was debating whether to attack him or not. "Hey, don't bother trying to tell him how it is, people here in Nerima have an odd way of jumping to conclusions, and a lot more experience with the out-of-the-ordinary than people in other wards."

"Wait, what just happened?"

I chuckled, "Apparently, Kuno-sempai thinks you're a girl who dresses as a boy, probably thinks you wear some kind of water-soluble costume. Don't bother correcting him, as it is he's more likely to help you, and trust me, he is one person you want on your side in this school. Him and my sister."

Ranma blinked, "Which?"

I looked at Ranma, and then laughed as I led her toward our classroom, "Nabiki, Ranma! Kasumi graduated last year already! She's working toward Medical school now, you know."

"Really!? I mean, she didn't seem like she was in too much of a hurry to leave this morning!"

Ranma and I chatted idly as we walked toward our class, some of our classmates still lingering in the halls before class officially started.

--

"Class, we'll be having a new student joining us today; her name is-"

"HIS!"

"Ranma Saotome."

"I'm a guy, dammit!" The sound of Ranma's indignant shouting could be heard coming into the classroom from out in the hall.

"Ranma just suck it up and get in here already!"

"No! I need to change back first!"

I sighed as I banged my head on my desk, "Sensei could I be excused to help Ranma with something?"

The teacher adjusted his glasses, "Does this have anything to do with the note from the young Kuno?"

I halted for a moment, and then nodded, "Yeah, most likely."

"Then be quick about it."

"Okay." Getting up from my seat, I went to help Ranma get some hot and cold water.

--

"Teacher? We're ready now."

"Then come in here, and why is Ranma not in dry clothing yet?"

I shrugged, indicating the dry uniform beneath my arm, "He'll be getting wet to explain this anyway."

"Hey, no! I don't wanna explain nothing!"

I frowned as I shoved Ranma, still in female form, out in front of the class, and then put a big wash-bin bucket on the floor in front of her, "Get in and shut up."

She did, and I continued, "Okay. This is Ranma with cold water." I dumped part of a kettle of hot water over her shoulder, and indicated the change in Ranma's stature, "And this is Ranma with hot water."

I then demonstrated a few more times, much to Ranma's chagrin, "Cold water, hot water. Everybody see it?" Getting mostly nods, I too nodded, "Okay, I'm done." Putting the dry uniform on the teacher's desk, I walked to my own desk and sat, "You're on your own now, Ranma."

With that statement, a slew of questions aimed at Ranma practically erupted from the class, none of which I think Ranma really knew how to answer, and looking around I noted a few note-takers frantically scribbling something or another.

Sooner or later the teacher excused Ranma to change into the dry uniform I had brought, and Ranma did just that; I don't know if he actually answered any questions or not.

--

Most of the morning classes were pretty-well dull, mediocre at best, and I actually made an effort to meditate through most of them; Ranma, however, had spent most of the morning trying not to read the many notes that he was finding on his desk. A few he answered, most he just destroyed.

And then we heard it, "I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

I think I was too far gone into my meditation to notice 'it', but Ranma was able to fill me in on it later.

Ranma perked when he heard the announcement from the hall, and was surprised to see Kuno-sempai storm into the classroom with abandon, "Tell me it isn't so!"

Most of the class was speechless for a second before someone finally posed the question, "What so, Kuno-sempai?"

"Tell me that the fathers of Tendo Akane and the maiden Ranma have not engaged their daughters, and thus intend to hide Ranma's womanly form to disguise their nefarious plot!" Kuno was apparently feeling true outrage.

Before much murmuring could start up, though, Ranma smartly burst out, "I AIN'T NO GIRL!"

"Hahah! Fear not, pig-tailed one, as I shall speak to yours and Tendo Akane's fathers directly! Such an abomination should not be allowed among such respectable young maidens! Come with me that we might break the bonds of this dark venture!"

At that point the rumor mill was already in full swing, and with so much stimulation it wasn't surprising that some rather ridiculous stories were already starting to spread among the populace.

"What the Hell're you talkin' about!?"

Kuno clenched a fist before himself, trying to look dramatic, "Engaging his daughter to another woman, and then hiding her as a man to cover up his deviousness, this father Saotome must truly be a foul fiend! I shall make him see the error of his ways, and then you will be free to live your life without lies! And now, I DEPART!"

As Kuno left, Ranma only smacked his head against his desk-top repeatedly, knowing that nothing he said would stop the stories from becoming any more ridiculous than they already were, which was pretty ridiculous.

I, however, was still pretty much a vegetable at that point, so I didn't hear about it until lunch-break.

--

"Is it true, Akane?"

I blinked at Yuka, "Is what true?"

"Is it true that yours and Ranma's fathers engaged you together!?" This time it was Sayuri who posed the question.

"Yeah, but where'd you hear that?"

"Kuno stormed into class and made a big stink about it! Weren't you there!?"

I shrugged, "Probably not, I don't remember anything about Kuno since we ran to the school this morning. What was his stink about? Did he try to fight Ranma?"

"No, he went off to try to get Ranma's father to drop the engagement, and I don't blame him! What kind of father engages his daughter to another girl!?"

"_WHAT!?_"

"Yeah, speaking of… HEY RANMA! Come on over here!" Sayuri waved the pig-tailed boy over, and he obediently did just that.

"What?"

"What was your father thinking, engaging you and Akane together!?" Yuka went straight to the question on everybody's mind.

Ranma shrugged, "They wanna unite the Saotome and Tendo schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Apparently they decided on it before either of us was born."

I looked the boy over, "You're awfully calm about this."

Ranma shrugged, "I'd yell that I ain't a girl, but nobody's listened so far so it probly won't help, didn't help in the last school I went to. I figure I'll just let everybody cool off, maybe Pops'll break down and we'll go get our cure."

I did a little thinking, and before long decided that I'd summed up our predicament, "So let me get this straight. Kuno somehow heard we were engaged, assumed that our fathers were hiding girl Ranma as a boy, and now everybody thinks that Ranma is a closet lesbian living as a boy so that we could secretly have hot lesbian sex without anybody knowing."

Sayuri nodded, "Pretty much, except most people think you already have."

"Yeah, wonderful. And now that Kuno's got the idea in his head, he's gonna run with it."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I ain't no girl." Ranma said it almost quietly enough for no one to hear, as if he was tired of trying to convince everyone of it.

I sighed as I looked at my bento for a bit. I sighed again as I stood up, "I'll go talk to Nabiki."

"Good idea."

"Yup."

--

Ranma was frustrated. He was trying to convince everyone that he was a boy, and not a girl, and he figured that the best way to do that would be to change in the boys' locker room for gym, as a boy. It went pretty well, too; everybody in there saw real, live boy parts attached exactly where they should have been, and no breasts where a girl would have them. The feelings of disappointment were tangible enough that I could feel them even through the walls in the girls' locker room.

And then something happened, and all that disappointment was wiped away and replaced first with shock and confusion, then realization, and finally a whole bunch of really loud noises that finally led to Ranma running out of the room wearing nothing but a towel around her waist, her breasts bouncing around exposed because Ranma didn't see fit to cover them.

The halls quickly became a madhouse as Ranma ran out of the boys' locker room, briskly running from her pursuers, who moved like a great wave of lechery behind her. Then, before Ranma really knew what was happening, I quickly opened the door to the Girls' locker room, pulled her in, and closed the door again, barring the boys outside, many of whom were barely covered if covered at all, and even with the short time that I had the door open I could see that most of them were rather excited. There was another tangible wave of disappointment as Ranma was taken out of reach for them, and they sullenly went back to finish changing.

"Hey! What's the big idea!?"

I sighed. "Hey, don't yell at me, would you rather be trouncing around the school in your birthday suit?"

"I AIN'T NO GIRL!"

I then tweaked one of her nipples, and she nearly fell to the floor with the unfamiliar pain, "Hey, no fair."

"How did you change in there anyway?"

Ranma crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?"

"I said, some duct tape came loose on the heating vent and dumped some water on me."

I blinked. "Well that's… odd."

"Yeah, I told you I can't go long without changing."

I shrugged, "Well then it'd probably better if you changed in here."

"What!? No way!"

"Why not?"

"Cause I ain't a girl!"

I frowned, "Well you can't change in the boys' lockers, unless you want them to start bringing buckets?"

Ranma visibly shivered, "I guess that was a bad idea, shoulda just changed in the janitor's closet."

I shook my head, "No, it's best if you just do it in here. Just don't try to change back to a boy or you're liable to be killed."

"Excuse me?"

I shrugged, "Some of the girls are a little trigger-happy about boys being in here. Now come on."

"Hell no! I ain't no girl!"

I sighed, "Ranma, can we have a talk?"

"Fine, but I ain't no girl."

--

I looked over to the other side of the field, where the boys were… doing whatever the heck it was they were doing, and where Ranma sat grumpily, protesting to being on the girls' side of the field even though she was currently wearing a girls' uniform. She was also getting visibly irritated by the attention she was getting from accross the fence.

My mind flying, I focused myself back on the softball game that I was being expected to play. When the ball started flying toward me, I swung the bat, hitting the ball and sending it into an orbit that took it well outside the 'Home Run' perimeter, and possibly beyond Nerima Ward Limits.

As I lazily jogged my way around the field, I reminisced on the confrontation between Ranma and I back in the locker room.

'_You really need to stop hating it so much.' _

'_I ain't no girl.' _

'_You don't have to be, but Jusenkyo won't let you totally be a boy anymore.' _

'_Soon as I get back to China, I'm gonna get my cure and be a full guy again.' _

'_Jusenkyo doesn't work that way.' _

'_Huh? Waddaya mean?' _

'_I mean that once you're cursed, you're cursed for life; there's no other magic in this world as powerful as Jusenkyo, and Jusenkyo will fight you getting a cure just as hard as you fight to find one.' _

'_So I'll go back to Jusenkyo! I'll jump in the spring of drowned man, and I'll be a full man again!' _

'_Jusenkyo won't cure your curse, and the harder you fight it the harder Jusenkyo will try to make you miserable.' _

'_What do you know about Jusenkyo!?' _

'_Lots, trust me.' _

'_What? … you mean you've got a curse!?' _

'… _yeah, actually.' _

'_What kind?' Ranma was nervous, almost not wanting to know, or believe that it was possible. _

'_You'll figure it out eventually, in fact I'll probably show you later.' _

'_Well then if you've got a curse, then how is it you haven't changed but I have!?' Ranma proudly felt sure of herself, having caught me in a fib, at least in her mind. _

'_I stopped fighting it. When I stopped fighting it, it stopped fighting me. I stopped hating it, and it stopped trying to make me miserable.' _

'_W-what?' _

_I remember nodding, 'Jusenkyo is as much a punishment as it is a training ground, made for discipline. As soon as you stop feeling like you're being punished, it stops trying to punish you. With Jusenkyo, it's basically Adapt or Die… or be miserable, whatever you want.' _

'_B-but… I ain't a girl! I can't be a girl! I don't even know how!' _

_I shrugged, 'It isn't so hard, other than having to deal with horny boys, which you'd obviously need to deal with anyway, it's mostly about different clothes. Anymore, tomboys aren't really all that rare and it's pretty easy to get by that way, so it's not like it'd be all that hard to adapt, really.' _

'_Well I still ain't no girl.' _

_I shrugged again, 'You don't really have to be, just wear clothes that fit properly; well, well enough they don't come off at least. You're even registered as a boy, so they'd even expect you to wear boy clothes.' _

'_I ain't gonna wear no dresses.' _

_I sighed, 'And you don't have to, just… give it a chance, I guess.' _

'_I ain't no girl.' _

'_Well you can't change in the boys' locker room with your curse, and there isn't really any hot water in here, so you're better off changing in here.' _

'_Fine.' _

_I smiled inwardly, 'And wearing the proper uniform.' _

'_What?'_

By that point I think I was having fun prodding Ranma, '_What? It's better than nothing, and better than what you'd have to wear to go swimming! Come on, don't think of it like some kind of punishment; think of it like a challenge!'_

I instantly knew that I had struck a chord in Ranma, '_Fine. I'll wear the stupid uniform.'_

And thus Ranma was wearing the girls' gym outfit, and looked rather good in it, too. Better than me, even; not that I'd actually admit that...

"Hey Akane, you wanna pitch for us?"

"And break their bats? No, you go."

"Fine, party pooper."

I then playfully made a loud fart-like sound with my mouth, following that by sticking my tongue out in defiance.

--

Once gym was over, Ranma went into the boys' locker room to retrieve his clothing before changing back into them in the girls' locker room. He then went into the boys' restroom for some hot water.

I don't really know exactly why I felt pain in his aura, but my best guess is that he'd forgotten that he was wearing panties under his shorts, having forgotten that she'd put them on and thus never having taken them off…

--

Once school had gotten out, Ranma and I walked home together, Ranma grumbling a bit the whole way.

"Hey Ranma…"

"What?"

"I'm curious… how do you keep your hair so nice if you've been out on the road for so long?"

"Oh that?" Ranma shrugged, "Pops ain't got no hair, so he's always been jealous of mine, I keep it long and in good shape just t' annoy 'im."

As I digested this, I suddenly came up with an evil idea. To whom it was evil I wasn't entirely sure, but it was just too good to keep to myself nonetheless. "He seemed pretty much against you being a girl last night…"

Ranma was suddenly all grumpy, "Yeah, he's been callin' me 'girly' all my life, and now with these stupid curses he…"

"Now you're afraid that everything he told you would become true?"

Ranma blinked, "Yeah, I guess. But Pops is the worst of it, he hasn't stopped harping on me since we got our curses, even though it was all his fault he blames me for it, says it's cause I was 'too girly' and this is some kinda punishment."

I blinked as a dark shadow crept over my eyes, "Or maybe it's supposed to be _his_ punishment? Maybe he pushed so hard to make you manly that Jusenkyo tried to balance the scales? Maybe your curse is Jusenkyo's way of trying to tell you that your father isn't always right?"

Ranma got a laugh out of that, "Hah, when it isn't Martial Arts, he's NEVER right!"

I blinked, this time surprised, "So does that mean you believe what he says about girls?"

Ranma shrugged, "It's not like I got anything t' compare to. Besides, all the girls I ever met cried an awful lot, and they were all weak and stuff."

I couldn't help but kick the fence at that, "Hey!"

"Ack! Sorry, I didn't mean you!"

I wasn't placated, "And just how many girls have you ever really been around!?"

"Ahm… like I said, I ain't got nothin' to compare to."

I sighed, "Whatever. Anyway, what I was saying was, how annoyed do you think your father would be if you, y'know, just didn't change back?"

"Hell, he'd try t' beat some sense into me."

I smiled, "He sure seemed to like throwing you into the pond out back, so what if you didn't get mad about it anymore?"

"Hell if I know."

"He'd probably stop doing it."

"Yeah."

And I decided to stop there, letting all of that sink in without trying to push for more.

'Luke, come over to the dark side… _breathe in, breath out_' And with that thought, I giggled a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"Just picturing your father's face…" This wasn't actually a non-truth.

"Oh…"

--

That night Ranma was enjoying the almost overwhelmingly pleasant tastes and aromas as Kasumi brought out to us the recipe that she had prepared for supper. She hadn't actually prepared it alone, since father had been helping her for... ever, but I never went into the kitchen (even to cook for myself, I always had somebody get everything for me, even if it was just peanut butter and jelly), and Nabiki was often too busy handling the numbers for the household, going to the kitchen mostly to be able to keep track of what we had and what we needed in that regard; she wasn't a cook, and held no illusions of such.

Genma and Ranma had sparred before dinner, and personally I think it was more because Genma was bored with daddy in the kitchen and all, but I also wonder what Ranma thought of daddy helping to cook, something that he would have considered 'Woman's Work'.

The result couldn't be argued with, though, and both Saotome's almost instantly dug in so far that I'm surprised I could still see either of their faces. Their little battle for food supremacy was entertaining, but not particularly welcome, and I wondered at exactly how I could just…

"**Agh** Could you two please stop that? There are better ways to train for speed, and you're making a mess!"

"Yes, if you could I'd like to ask you to stop literally attacking your food." Somehow Kasumi managed to make her question into a polite, requesting statement, seemingly without trying.

"Hrrmph." Genma only grumped, though not impolitely.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Well, at least Ranma managed to swallow before speaking.

"And please, Saotome, respect their wishes." Daddy didn't even wag an eyebrow at anybody; just spoke with the finality of the Head of the House.

"Hrmph. Alright Tendo." Personally, I think that daddy being Genma's friend was what really made him listen to reason, rather than his status as Host.

In between bites, I wondered to myself, "Hey Ranma, you wanna spar after dinner?"

"Fshurrhh." Well, so much for that.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, you're not an animal." Ranma only shrugged.

Food passed from plate to palate in relative silence for a while longer, and then Genma finally slammed his hand on the table, "Boy, why don't you change back? There's no reason to stay a girl any more than you have to!"

Ranma shrugged, "Later."

"Why not now?"

"It'd get the floor wet."

"So go to the furo."

"Don't feel like it."

"So do it outside."

"What's the point? I'd just change again in an hour or so."

"So you change back again! Do you _want_ to be a weak, whiny little girl!?"

"He doesn't mean that of course, Akane." This, of course, was daddy suddenly and nervously trying to placate me.

"Don't worry, I don't value his opinion." I merely continued on with my dinner.

"Respect your betters, girl!"

"I do respect my betters. You aren't."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Would you take it as one?" I remained calm even as Genma tried to use his superior size to intimidate me.

"Remember Saotome, that she is my heir; it will be hard to intimidate her."

"Fine! I challenge you! When I win you will not practice Martial Arts anymore and learn to be a proper wife!"

I'm not really sure if Genma noticed my eyes glow periodically, but personally I think I showed great restraint by only breaking my chopsticks. I didn't say anything for a second or so, I think Genma took it as a refusal.

"What's wrong, afraid!?"

"Pop, you're a complete idiot, y'know that!? I'll fight ya!"

"No Ranma." I pulled my head back up, looking calm although inside I was both roiling mad and coldly calculating. I intended to answer this challenge, but not under such stark terms.

"Genma, I would accept your challenge, but only if I would be the one to set the terms. Rather than never practicing again, if I should lose I would teach Ranma all of the techniques I know of the Tendo style, including the secret and sealed techniques, and afterward swear to never teach them myself again, leaving Ranma to teach them at his own whim. However, if I should win, you would accept _me_ as _your_ master. Rather than fighting 'right here, right now', we'll instead fight after we've all finished dinner, and we will fight in some location that is public land of your choice, but is not in this house or on these grounds. Do you accept these terms or do you feel like backing down to a woman?" I calmly leveled an icy stare on Genma, showing no fear whatsoever, because I felt none.

Genma seemed to digest that for a moment, then responded in kind, "Add on an agreement to marry Ranma, and you've got a deal." I'm sure he was already thinking of the perfect place for the challenge, and most likely he was superbly confident that he could win.

I thought for a moment, then responded as well, "I would not refuse if Ranma were to ask, if that's what you're looking for."

"Then it's a deal! Shake on it." Genma extended his hand and I took it. Genma then tried to crush my hand, and I made no attempt to stem his onslaught; let him think he'd won before he fought…

--

"Are you sure that was such a good idea, Akane? Genma is a Master, you know, and you made some pretty steep promises…" It was nice to have an older sister to look out for you.

"Yeah, pops ain't nobody t' sneeze at, he's a pretty serious Martial Artist."

I shrugged at Ranma's worry, "Even if he does beat me, it's not like it'd be the end of the world."

Suddenly both Nabiki and Ranma stopped, confused.

"Think about it. If I lose, I promised that I would teach Ranma the Tendo School's techniques and then not teach them to anyone else. First, I was already intending to teach Ranma a bunch of techniques, and second, that wouldn't stop me from either practicing nor teaching the normal Martial Arts, let alone all the techniques that I made on my own that have nothing to do with the school, or the ones I learned while on the road. As for the marriage thing, that really isn't much change from what it was as of last night, Genma just doesn't realize that. Genma really has more to lose in this one, though I guess he could gain something either way…"

Ranma shook her head, "He ain't gonna let you win either way, he'd rather beat you senseless than lose a match like this."

I smiled, "It doesn't matter. Besides, I know far, far more about him, his skills and his styles than he could ever know about me and mine; in a way, I already feel as if I've won, and that's half the battle. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to this one, Tendo versus Saotome styles..." And I smiled warmly just thinking about it...

I'm not too sure that Ranma knew what to think about it though…

------ End Chapter 3 ------

(1) Did that make you look:P

11/29/05 'finished v0.9'

10/5/06 'final showing v1.0'

I'm so happy! The document uploader actually worked! Yay!

Alex Ultra: Give Me Two Bits, I'll Give You A Quarter

LATER


	4. Collision

Disclaimer: Lookit! Pretty duckies!

* * *

Collision

* * *

'Geeze, I can't believe I did that, what was I thinking? Damn Genma's just too good at getting under my skin, I guess. Definitely gonna break out my newer techniques...'

Genma and I stared each-other down on the field of battle, the field which Genma had chosen for us to duel. The starting point for our battle was in the middle of a street, though I doubted that it would stay there, and felt certain that it would either be taken to the buildings to my left, or to the park to my right. Personally, either terrain was just fine by me; after all, I'd grown up in both and then some, but I was fairly certain that Genma would choose the park just because it had the wild-like atmosphere that Genma had undoubtedly been surrounded by for so long, and I was fairly certain that he thought that I would be unused to such a natural setting.

My father had been the last one to finish eating supper, complaining that the prospect of his youngest daughter and his oldest, dearest friend at each-other's throats was making his stomach uneasy, but unwilling to leave his plate unfinished, as it would dishonor his oldest daughter and chef of the fine meal; as such, it was he whom we had all been left waiting to finish before the anticipated 'match'.

And now he, my sisters, and Ranma were all sitting on a bench on the sidewalk beside the park, rooting us on.

Well, actually, my sisters were rooting me on, daddy was silent with tears running down his face, and Ranma was just berating his father (I say 'his' because Ranma had decided to change back to male, the better to do damage-control that way, I believe).

"Try not to hurt him too badly, Akane!"

"What are you talkin' about, sis? TRASH HIM, LITTLE SISTER!"

"Oh! I'm not sure my heart can take it! The tearing pain is killing me!"

"Pops, this has got to be the stupidest thing you've ever done! What the Hell is wrong with you!?"

Both Genma and I were putting forth a visage of calm readiness, and after a while of tuning out the cat-calls and shouts of random drivers as they passed, I nodded. "Daddy, come on, have you forgotten?"

"Oh, the tragedy of it all! And now I must officiate as well!" and with that daddy was suddenly all business, his emotions either having burnt out or being pushed to the back of his mind, and he stood stock still, as like a true official.

He held out his hand, looked at us both, and then opened his mouth for the count, "ThreetwooneGo!"

Of course Genma did try to cheat by starting before daddy got to 'Go', but his quick count had prevented the start from being too much of a problem.

Genma had the advantage of size on me, he was both bigger and taller, and he had a slight advantage in power, but despite all his admittedly impressive speed, I was certain he was still just that tiny smidgen slower than I was. Besides, from what I remembered, Genma barely knew anything about ki, whereas I had been working with it since primary school; and that, at least, was one area I had him licked.

At first, Genma seemed intent on smashing my face in, trying to bludgeon me to death with his fists and feet, but then he changed tactics by jumping to a street-lamp before coming down on me from above, attempting to use the angle of his attack to discourage me, which it really should have since he suddenly had the sun to his back.

The sun has little effect, though, on Ki sense, and I don't think he was prepared to be thrown into the street face-first, but he still recovered remarkably well and managed to lash out at me with his other foot, forcing me to let him go. I didn't try to push the advantage of having him on the ground, so he was able to get back to his feet with little trouble, and was back on his attack almost instantly.

Most of what he was doing seemed more like a rehearsed distraction than an actual attack, and I was able to block and deflect what I couldn't dodge with no real trouble; then he leapt at me from a distance with a straight kick like something straight out of a movie, and when I dodged to the side he twisted in mid-air to catch me in the side and throw me to the ground, he then flipped on his hand back to his footing and pushed his attack further on me, trying not to let me get back up.

While I was down, I managed to defend myself with one arm and leg while I used the others to get back to a standing position. Once I had, Genma backed off to give me a stare. "Not bad girl, your father taught you well. But not, WELL ENOUGH!"

I could feel his aura swell as Genma attempted to intimidate me with it, and as he did he seemed to grow several sizes larger, even the ground seemed to tremble beneath my feet, and my instincts were telling me to lash out at the threat, screaming rather loudly in fact. On the sideline, I could see Ranma's eyes growing just a bit, so he apparently hadn't seen something quite like this in a while at least.

The experience he gave me did indeed give me a burst of adrenaline, but it wasn't from fear, rather I was… excited. 'Alright; now you've got my attention, _bring it on_!' I'm pretty sure I was grinning wildly at that, but recollection of such a detail seems lost in the haze of battle.

Once he was fairly sure he'd intimidated me, the oversized Genma was suddenly practically on top of me! Instinct told me that his charge was a feint, though, so rather than simply dodging I jumped into the trees behind me, which I was sure was either where Genma did want me to go, or didn't; either way, I decided in that instant that that was where I was going to go, and once there I noticed that Genma seemed to falter slightly at my leap.

That didn't last long, however, and he was quickly among the foliage along with me, jumping into the branches that I had already claimed.

"Akane! The Saotome School specializes in Mid-Air fighting!"

I smiled, not letting on that I knew that already, and swung around a few times to get a better hold on the way that Genma was moving through the branches, and moving about among them every time he approached me. It wasn't long, though, before I noticed that Genma seemed to be leading me somewhere.

It seemed that he was leading me toward a small stream that went through the park, and once I'd determined this I decided to let him have it, quickly dropping out of the trees in favor of the ground, which was more familiar territory despite my practice in the trees.

As expected, it was a panda that came back to meet me, and the first thing he did was display how his claws allowed him to dig into the trees, affording him an advantage in maneuverability, and he was quickly in the trees above, blending in remarkably well considering his new color scheme.

As I extended my senses, I marveled to myself how stealthy the elder Saotome was being, and wondered momentarily if he'd ever had any ninja training.

So, since I couldn't sense him, I stood there, waiting for something to move, something to happen… and then, a flash behind me, and Genma had me in a powerful bear-hug, trying to squeeze the life out of me! Or so it seemed at the time, and those beastly panda muscles were like iron!

"Grah?" Genma seemed stunned for a moment when he noticed that it was a log he held in his grip, and not my stomach, and that confusion gave me more than ample time to give him a well-placed kick in the side, sending him into a tree. He actually recovered fairly quickly, and then seemed to stand there for a while, acting for all intents and purposes like he was waiting for me to attack… Wondering what he was thinking, I circled the panda, scrutinizing him…

I had only just barely noticed that what I was looking at had been an after-image before Genma caught me; I had turned around, and subsequently Genma had managed to catch me right in the breast with his attack. "AAGH!!" … it really hurt.

With a pained howl I quickly backed away from the man and worked at trying to keep from losing my temper; unfortunately, the stupid smile on his face was making it rather difficult to remain calm, and I was really, REALLY angry with his… RRGH! 'Calm down, Akane!'

While I was trying to regain my calm, things had suddenly started to disappear; first my head-band, then my watch, then my shoes… 'Okay, so now he's using his special techniques. I guess it's time to even the playing field, then.'

"_YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!_" With a superfluous shout, which also helped to vent some of my anger, I charged up my ki and created a fairly mediocre aura that lit up the area in a mix of blue-white and red; I then just as suddenly extinguished it completely and started drawing on my stealth skills, which were rather well developed considering the hundreds or even thousands of hours I had spent on them over the years, not to mention the help of others.

I'm not entirely sure just how well he could see or sense me at that point, I not knowing his level of awareness, but once I was beneath my cloak of low-energy I found that I could relatively easily pick Genma out from between the branches, and from there we started a slow, almost invisible dance of evasion and misdirection, trying to get each-other off of our own backs while also seeking each-other out.

It wasn't long before I got tired of the sneaking around and decided to try something different…

* * *

"Where'd they go?"

"I can barely sense either of their ki's! I had no idea that Genma could do such a thing! He'd always seemed such a boisterous fighter!"

Ranma snorted, "He's been sneakin' around all my life, actin' like some kinda ninja, 'cept without the honor or contracts."

Soun nodded, "Our master always stressed making our appearances belie our strengths, Genma appears to be big, strong, and slow, but he is in fact strong, fast, and nimble, whereas I focus more on strength despite my relative smallness. Akane, however, seems more like she has her own way of doing things, and seems to act as if she refuses to _have_ one great strength to rely on… that girl truly confuses me at times…" Soun made a show of being confused, crossing his arms and looking at the trees with disdain.

Ranma thought about this as he searched for his father and the youngest Tendo girl… but then suddenly there she was!

To those observing the fight (now including Kasumi and Nabiki, as they had needed time to make their way into the parklands, where Ranma and Soun could easily follow the action), the scene of Akane making a jump to the ground from the trees seemed to go in slow motion; she fell slowly to the ground, and once there landed on one leg… just before a spray of hits spread a small puff of dirt and blood into the air that led to all observers nearly emptying their stomachs…

"Oh, pop!"

"Akane!!! _Sob_"

"Whoa..."

"Oh my..."

* * *

Genma, too, was stunned when the girl in front of him practically seemed to explode before him; he hadn't expected it, and thus was left completely unprepared for the unholy pummeling that I laid upon him from behind, the now-obliterated log that I had charged with my ki before throwing to the ground now left forgotten on the ground, without the energy that had given it its illusionistic property.

Genma, stunned and now badly bruised all along his back, dropped his stealth in favor of brute force; he also opened his mouth and jabbered a bit, but I neither heard nor paid any attention to it, it didn't sound at all apologetic or respectful, so it obviously wasn't important. Besides, being a panda, he had apparently forgotten that I couldn't understand him anyway.

Since I didn't know what he'd said I couldn't decipher any importance in it, and thus merely decided on how to continue according to how he was holding himself; at that moment, he was confidently standing full-up just at one end of the clearing, and seemed to be charging up some kind of ki-technique focused primarily in his hands, hoping that I would appear right in front of him. Far be it for me to disappoint him.

Once I was apparently 'in range' (though just barely so) he hurriedly grunted loudly a bit and swept his hands forward, creating a blast of ki that carried an air-based container attack of some kind, which was launched toward me and made into a vacuum by the motion of his hands, which also shaped the container into a kind of crescent with a sharpened forward, due to the point made by his longer middle fingers, or claws as they were at the moment. I found it quite insulting that the 'point' of his attack was made by his middle fingers, and brought it upon myself to not be hit by it. Looking back, I wonder if the effectiveness of the technique might have been reduced by Genma's panda-fied state, but that is a mystery left to some other time.

After a few more of these, he apparently got frustrated and started charging me while still firing off more of the vacuum attacks; anytime he got close, he also did his best to remove my intestines from their proper places with well-aimed kicks and tried to hit me with chi-hardened sticks and branches, from time to time he even got a lucky shot in on me, but for the most part the force of his attacks led to a reduced speed in their making and I was able to avoid them whilst wholly ignoring his loud shouts of panda grunting.

After a while of not being able to attack, I was also becoming frustrated; I wanted to attack him too, but I couldn't think of the right technique! It seemed funny to me that where he was trying every technique he knew to catch me, I was turning techniques down because I didn't feel like using them.

"Hah! Got one!" Somewhere in the back of my mind, my senses picked up a small aura of trepidation somewhere outside the battle, probably my family responding to my announcement, though in the heat of battle I didn't really notice it.

"GROWF! Gra-gra-gra, GROWF GROW-GROWF!" Though I couldn't really understand what he was saying, the way his ki split almost perfectly to create the illusion of two bodies was rather good; I was fairly sure, too, that one body would continue his previous, noisy assault while the other tried to get in close with his stealth techniques.

With a smile, I started chanting at a good volume while I avoided his strikes, "_And the dragon of silver did say: Let me watch you in the night, when you cannot watch yourself. Let my light be your eyes, and my claws your sword._"

* * *

"She can't be serious?" Nabiki had a disbelieving look in her eye as she listened to the monologue.

"What? What is it?" Ranma, not knowing what was going on, wanted to know what was going to happen, and was frustrated that he could only ask.

"Why is she telling a story in the middle of a fight!? _JUST SHOOT HIM ALREADY!!_"

"Indeed, Akane has a nasty habit of being a bit flashy with her techniques, probably her greatest weakness, really. And now it appears that Genma is about to use one of our Master's attacks: Khu-chan's Lovely Twins." (1)

"What the Hell is that?" Ranma guarded his eyes as a bright light shone from the battleground.

"Which? Genma's technique, or Akane's?"

"That bright light! Well, both, but I don't care 'bout pops!" Ranma was frustrated by the uncertain waves of the battle, because not having confidence in the outcome of a fight seemed, to him, to be an unpleasant reminder of most of his childhood.

"I think it's…"

* * *

"CRESCENT OF THE MOON DRAGON!!" With this call I loosed a great wave of silver-colored ki, shaped in a crescent that mimicked the look of the moon itself, which I threw directly at the Genma that was continuing to make a great racket. The blast hit him directly in the chest, lighting up brightly as it burned at him; usually a direct hit from a fresh crescent meant lacerations in the skin not unlike those of Genma's vacuum waves, along damage to the internal organs and a great blow to the target's ki reserve.

But as it was, this was not the 'real' Genma, and I had become so absorbed in making and controlling the technique that I had left myself open to an attack from behind, so when I fell forward to the ground, I could also feel the distinct effects of some kind of pressure-point technique beginning to take effect, and as a result my arms seemed to be locked in place as I fell...

"GROWF! GRAHAHAF!" Genma stood over me proudly, confident that I wouldn't be able to attack him anymore even if I wanted to, he even took the time to write his gloating on wooden signs. "**Now all that's left is to get you married and to teach you the proper womanly arts! TENDO, ISN'T IT WONDERFUL? THE SCHOOLS WILL BE JOINED!** GRAHAHA!"

I smiled, "Hey Genma."

"**What is it, daughter-in-law?**" Genma was so proud of himself you would almost think that he'd had a good time in the fight.

"Boomerangs always come back."

"Gruh?" Before he could say any more, he was suddenly mashed in the face as the silver crescent came back to slam directly into him; he was so surprised that he didn't even have a suitable defense, and I was easily able to use my ki to tell the wave to wrap around him and lock him to a tree.

* * *

"Genma used Shiatsu on her, a good idea; it's too bad that she learned Shiatsu from Dr. Tofu or it might have done more..." Soun was emotionlessly assessing things as they came, pointing out the flaws in both sides' thinking that neither side knew they were making.

"Whaddaya mean? Is she immune?"

Soun shook his head, "No, just very, very tolerant."

Kasumi smiled, "It makes it very difficult to treat her properly, unfortunately." She said this from experience, of course.

* * *

As Genma struggled against his silver glowing restraint, which now pinned him to a tree, I took my time getting back to a standing position, and in walking up to Genma.

As I closed in on him, Genma started to become angry, trying to use his brute strength to break the restraint, and actually making significant progress.

I then took great pleasure in slamming my fist against his temple a few times until he went out; which also gave Genma a fast realization that I'd recovered from his pressure-point. (2)

Once he was 'out', I grumped about the resilience of his panda skull, and made a note to remember it in the future.

The fight over, I crossed my arms and grumped at the trees...

"Dammit, now I'm all wired up." To this I received a gulp as father checked on Genma.

"What? Is he still conscious?"

"Um, well, I don't think so?"

"So I win?"

"Yes."

"Okay..."

Kasumi came forward, no doubt seeing my disappointment, "Akane-chan, what's wrong?"

I grumped, "He's supposed to be a Master of the Art, but I'm barely breathing hard! I was looking forward to a good, long fight, but, I mean… ugh!" Recollecting myself, I loosed my frustration for the moment, and looked at the unconscious panda, "Well, I guess he's my responsibility now."

At this Ranma couldn't help but speak up, "Whaddaya mean?"

I only smiled, "According to the rules of this challenge, he is now my student and I his master; that makes him my responsibility, among other things." I noted the visible signs of distress that Ranma was giving off, making me smile that I could have such an effect.

* * *

Genma was recovering from the major beating I had given him, daddy was worrying for him, my sisters were doing whatever it was they were doing, and Ranma and I were out in the dojo, going over a few things.

"Can you teach me that technique you used?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, but that's gonna take a while; it's one of my most advanced techniques, thus the story behind it."

Ranma blinked, "Okay? So what do I gotta do to learn it?"

I smiled, "You don't learn it."

Ranma raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

I shook my head slowly, still smiling, "What you do is you learn everything that 'makes' it, and then create it yourself from that."

Ranma raised an eyebrow again, "Um, okay? So what do I gotta do for all that stuff?"

I smiled, "In time; first, is there anything else you wanna ask me about our fight?"

Ranma thought for a minute, then responded, "I guess I noticed that you were faster fighting pop than you were with me, were you holding back?" Ranma frowned as he finished his question.

Akane nodded, "A fair question. First, I believe you understand about ki?"

Ranma nodded, "Yeah, of course I do!"

"Good. Now for the first part of the explanation: In a twisted sort of way, I really wasn't holding back."

Ranma relaxed just slightly and raised an eyebrow, "Say again?"

I shrugged, "One of the oldest ways to build strength is to have some kind of resistance while you do everything, from sparring to just walking around; like weighted ankle-braces and wrist-braces, or a weighted shirt." Seeing an understanding, or at least following look from Ranma, I continued, "Well, what I do is similar, except I don't need any tools to do it."

"Keep going."

"I call it the 'Black Side', and what it is is that I use my energy, I call it Chi and I'll tell you why some other time, and use it to force my joints to stiffen and generally make it harder for my muscles to move my body. The end result is two fold, I move a whole lot slower, and because I'm working harder to do the same amount of work I'm growing stronger in the process; by locking my joints and not my muscles or bones, I'm even making my bones stronger because my muscles are pulling against them, forcing them to adapt."

Ranma didn't look like he was all that confident in his ability to follow what I had said, "So… you… made yourself slower?"

I nodded, "All my skills and all of that stays the same, but my body moves slower because it's fighting the Black Side; coincidentally, the stronger that the Black Side makes me, the stronger the technique becomes, so it's a pretty powerful cycle."

Ranma scratched his chin, "But isn't ki supposed to make you stronger?"

I nodded again, "I call that the 'White Side'; White Side makes me stronger and faster, Black Side makes me slower and unable to deliver as hard of blows, using them together in equal amounts basically just makes my body act normally but puts strain on my energy reserves, so I sometimes use that to just train my ki/chi up. How's that for a first lesson?" I smiled, knowing full well it wasn't sufficient.

Ranma frowned in thought, "So all I gotta do is use this Black Side and I'll get stronger?"

I smiled nervously, "Um, it's not as simple as all that..."

"Hah, pops would roll in his futon if he thought I'd actually get stronger than him!"

Dropping my nervous demeanor, which I was sure Ranma would only ignore, I instead opted for a serious one, acting something like I was about to share a big secret, a tone that no one ignored, "Ranma-kun."

Hearing this, Ranma looked back at me, "Yeah?"

I lowered my gaze, "Don't tell your father about this; I don't want him to know about it until after you're strong and fast enough to beat his ass hands down _without_ using the White Side, okay?"

Ranma waved the question off, "Yeah, sure, whatever. So how does this whole thing work, anyway?"

I smiled nervously again, "Unfortunately, while it is a very, very simple technique, there are several things I have to teach you first... or at least make sure you know."

Ranma rolled his eyes, "Great. So where do you want to get started?"

I shook my head, "Later, after your father wakes up, actually; first, I want to talk to you about something _before_ he wakes up."

"How do you know he isn't awake now?"

I smiled, "Trust me, I know. Now what I wanted to talk about was this: How would you feel about going to school as a girl?"

Suddenly Ranma was rather agitated, straightening up and swinging his pigtail into the air, "What!? Hell NO!"

I gave Ranma a sideways glance, smiling coyly and crossing my arms over my chest, "First of all, you already know you're going to have to get used to it, being and becoming a girl I mean. Second, I noticed your performance fight-wise degrades a little when you become a girl, and I don't mean you're smaller and weaker, but that your whole style just doesn't work right for that body."

Ranma looked gruffly off to the side, "I'm working on it, okay?"

I shook my head, "No, you're not, and if it were up to you, you wouldn't have to, right?" Ranma's deepened frown only confirmed this, "Look, everybody already thinks of you as a girl there, even though they know you're really a boy; just going there as a girl would keep a lot of really, really big problems from developing for you, like the boys being lecherous while the girls hate you thinking _you_ are being a lecher. Like you said, your curse would force you to become a girl there all the time anyway, so why not just skip the wet clothes, at least until you're used to it?"

Ranma turned his frowning gaze at me, still not liking the idea.

"I'm not going to tell you you have to wear a dress or girls' underwear; well, maybe a bra, unless you _really_ want the boys after you, which I'm pretty sure you don't. You don't have to wear makeup, or talk 'girl talk' or any of that stuff; heck, I don't." 'Actually, now I've forgotten what my point was…' "Meh, just think of how your father would react!"

Ranma only grumped some more, "I'm not gonna pretend to be a girl, for any reason, and that's it."

I shrugged, crossing my arms over my stomach, "I didn't ask you to, just to keep your curse activated at school so you wouldn't have to deal with changing halfway through. Besides, you don't really have to make a decision now, and you can change your mind anytime you want." I then raised one finger into the air, "However! I _will_ ask you to stay a girl in training for now, because you obviously aren't used to it yet! I mean, you'd hate to lose a fight against a strong opponent because you suddenly changed halfway through and suddenly could barely keep your balance, or there weren't any hot water around."

Ranma raised his nose to the air, "I do just fine!"

To this I smiled, "Then you shouldn't have any objections! Training is training, and everything is training; now come on, let's spar before bedtime." Standing up, I tightened my sash just a bit before walking out the dojo's door. Ranma, from what I could guess, grumbled a bit before following me out. As I walked out, I couldn't help but to smile deviously, 'Ranma-kun, if I have anything to say about it, you will be stronger and faster than your father _LONG_ before season Seven! Mwahahaha!!!' Of course, my barely restrained giggle only served to create havoc in the minds of any who heard it, but I digress, 'Wait, how will I know when it's season seven or not? CRAP! Critical oversight: I can't even remember the specific sequence of things, let alone how they fit in the series timeline.' With this in mind, I turned around beside the koi pond in the front yard, only slightly disappointed to see Ranma still male.

'Fine, if he isn't ready yet, I won't force him.' Taking our positions, we started our spar, I again using my Black Side; after all, it wouldn't have been as much a workout otherwise.

* * *

As Genma awoke from his induced sleep, daddy was there to greet him, "Welcome back to the world of the living, Saotome!"

Genma only grumbled, though he was curious as to what his friend was doing. "Grw-waf? Gr" Noticing that his vocal cords were not designed for human speech, Genma rushed through making a sign to speak with, "**What are you doing there, Tendo?**"

"Hmm? Oh, this." Daddy picked up the charts he was pouring over, "This is just a lesson plan for tomorrow. I canceled the sessions for the last couple of days when I got your postcard, but tomorrow lessons will be starting again."

"**Ah. Anything I can do to help?**"

Daddy shrugged, "I don't know…" he was then interrupted by a loud crash, the force of which shook the floor beneath him. Looking out, he commented back to his old friend, "On second thought, it would seem my daughter has taken a liking to your son and will likely be occupied… perhaps you could fill the role she usually plays?"

Genma smiled, "**So she is teaching the boy the Tendo style!?**"

Daddy nodded, "I suppose so, but it seems more like it's because she wants to…"

"**Hah! They'll be married before we know it!**" Genma had tears streaming from his eyes.

Daddy also suddenly developed tears from his eyes, "Oh Saotome!"

"**Tendo!**"

"I shall weep for you from the sidelines!"

"**Yes, it will be a wondrous occasion indeed!**" Genma then stopped, then made a new sign on the back of the first, "**Wait, what do you mean 'weep for me'?**"

Daddy nodded energetically, "She won your fight together, which means that she is now your Master in Martial Arts! Though I know not yet what she has in mind for you, I am sure it will not be pleasant, but I shall support you in any way necessary!"

Genma tilted his head to the side, then made a new sign, "**What are you talking about Tendo? I lost?**"

"Oh Saotome! She must have hit you in the head harder than I thought! Yes you lost! And now who knows what sort of devious training she might have in store for you! Heaven forbid she try out any new techniques on you!"

Genma made another new sign, "**Tendo, you're scaring me.**"

Daddy only nodded slowly, "As am I, old friend, as am I."

"**But how could I have lost to a little girl!?**" Growfing suddenly, Genma put up an older sign, "**Could I get some hot water, please?**"

Daddy nodded, pouring a kettle over Genma's head, "Of course, why didn't you just ask? I was keeping this nearby just for that."

Genma growled again as the water washed over him, just warm enough to trigger the change, "Right now, then; Tendo, have you truly trained your daughter to be so strong as to have defeated me!?"

Daddy shook his head, "I did a lot, but I can't take all the credit! She's been as energetic and determined a person as ever I met, perhaps more obsessed with being strong and powerful than the Master!"

"Tendo! Do not speak his name!"

Daddy only blinked, then cried once more, "Oh Saotome, I weep for you again, for by the time Akane is finished with you, you will no longer remember the fear that Master instilled into you! Akane is much more frightening when she wishes to be, and she is not distracted by lingerie!"

Genma only blinked, then sweat dropped as another crash lurched one of the house's outer-walls. "You aren't serious, Tendo… Are you?"

Daddy only nodded sullenly, "Whatever you do, if she mentions Seven Days of Haunting, apologize right away, or run for the hills, as I have simply taught her much too well."

Genma then stood seriously, nodding as he did so, "Tendo, I trust you to take care of my son while I'm gone. My work here is done!"

Daddy only gasped in confusion as his old friend left him behind; a hand up in a position to limply beckon him back, he could only sigh, 'Oh Saotome… you're such a coward, though I can't say that I blame you. If only it were possible for me to run away!'

"YA-HA! HAH, GOTCHA!"

"Eeep!" This was followed by the sound of a loud splash, judging by the voice it was Akane falling into the koi pond. Another, lesser splash indicated that she had come back up for air.

"Um, ah… wait, is that your… curse?"

Daddy sighed as he listened to what was going on just outside his door.

"Yes it is."

"And those are… real?"

"Yes they are."

"Oh… u-um, I, uh, gotta, I-I mean, uh, hahaha!" Daddy then watched as Ranma-kun ran straight into the common room, followed by running straight into a wall, where he promptly knocked himself out.

Daddy then smiled as I came in, "Well now! It would seem you two are hitting it off rather well!"

I frowned, my whiskers dropping just a little, "Not now, dad!" Looking around, I sniffed the air, "Where's Mr. Saotome?"

Daddy nodded sagely, "Ah yes, he ran off when he figured out that you were his new Master."

My right ear twitched, "In other words you scared him off…"

Putting a finger to his chin, Daddy looked up at the ceiling, "I suppose you could say that…" He then looked back at me, "So are you going to go get him?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll be right back." I then left, following Genma's trail.

* * *

"Ah yes, nothing quite like being back in nature, nothing more than the stars above and the grass below." Taking a deep breath through his nose, Genma sighed, "And the fresh air reminds me I'm alive and well!" Just as he finished speaking, the sounds of screeching tires and loud, angry honking blasted at him from the streets less then forty feet to the side, "Ah yes, nothing better for one's health than a good trip back to nature."

Hammering a few more times, he secured the last pegs to his travel tent and sighed as he went inside.

And then he sensed something, "Hmm? What is that I sense?" Turning around, he saw a white streak bounding from rooftop to rooftop, heading in his general direction. 'Oh no! Maybe if I lay low I won't be spotted; hopefully it's just some demon running randomly in my direction.'

Leaping for the nearest bush, Genma hid like the coward he would often prove himself to be, and watched as a very demon-like form landed on the ground just outside his tent.

From behind, it looked like it might be a cat-girl straight out of one of Happosai's fantasies, except with a white training gi on; in the low light he couldn't really make out the colors of her fur, but the tail and arms definitely had striped patterns to them, and the large satellite ears left little to no doubt that this was a humanoid cat he was now looking at. 'It _is_ a demon! And it's looking for me?' He was suddenly getting very nervous as the cat-girl sniffed his tent. He then nearly emptied his bladder when she turned around, looking directly at him, her smile visibly teasing him even as one tooth hung outside her lower lips. Her eyes, reflective as they were, were also obviously slotted like a cat's, and when Genma saw the girl's feet, he also saw that they were very paw-like with claws and fur sticking out; as he watched said feet, he even saw the claws extend even further, embedding themselves into the ground.

'I cannot stay here!' Pouring on the speed, Genma made a break for it, running first past a pile of rubbish, then into and through traffic, where he did his best to get lost as the demon woman became a white streak and came after him.

I wasn't, however, looking to get this chase over with quickly; I was feeling playful, and though it might have been catty instincts, I really wanted to give my prey the illusion that he could escape, so when Genma put on a horrible-looking (for him) dress and wig, I actually passed right by him without even looking. I then stopped off around a nearby corner, where I gave Genma some time to recollect himself.

"Hey Akane, what's up?"

I blinked, then turned around to see three of my classmates, two girls and a guy, who was carrying so many bags that I couldn't see his legs, "Oh, hey there. I'm just chasing somebody down like the rat they are."

As the guy turned slightly blue at this, one of the girls smiled, "Another pervert?"

I shook my head, "No, just somebody who thinks they can get away from me."

The other girl nodded knowingly, "The poor soul."

I smiled at that, "Yeah, well, see ya later then!" And with that I took off again.

* * *

About an hour later

* * *

"We're back!" Walking in the back door, I dropped Genma-panda on the floor, where he quickly stood back up to growl angrily at me, towering over me as he did; I didn't even look at him, knowing that if I did he'd just back down without a fight.

"Welcome back, Akane! We wer-"

"C-C-CAAAATTT!!!" Ranma then darted outside, where he went to hide in the dojo.

As dad and I watched Ranma go, Genma only cried panda tears until I turned a scowl to him, "Okay you, I think you have some explaining to do. And first of all, you're Ranma's sensei, how the HELL could you allow him to be so slow!?!?"

Daddy blinked behind me as Genma sweat-dropped beneath my gaze, "Uh, Akane dear, I think you're forgetting something…?"

Nabiki, who walked in on the commotion, nodded, "Yes, like why Ranma seemed more afraid of Akane looking like a cat than the fact she looks like a demon? And what happened to his macho attitude when he saw you like that?"

Genma, ever resourceful, pulled out a sign with writing on both sides, something he'd made long ago and just now decided to use, "**OH THE SHAME! TO THINK THAT MY SON COULD BE** - **DEATHLY AFRAID OF CATS! THE SHAME!!!"** This was coupled with more panda tears, which everyone ignored.

Kasumi then came into the room carrying a kettle, "I think it would be best if we all sat down and heard all about it."

* * *

"Ailurophobia?" Kasumi tilted her head, taking in the information.

Genma nodded, "A fear of cats, that's exactly what it is. So shameful."

Ranma shot a menacing look at his father, who now sat on daddy's other side, my father having taken it upon himself to separate the two. "And what are you talking about, this is all your fault y'know!"

Genma leaned over to Ranma, "Oh _REALLY!?_" Though I didn't see where he'd gotten the cat he used to make Ranma run away and duck behind Kasumi, I made a mental note to punish him for it later.

Looking crossly at him, I spoke to Genma, "Mr. Saotome, why don't you tell us just _how_ this would be all your fault?"

"Yes, Saotome, tell us." Daddy nodded, backing me up and making Genma back down, releasing the cat as he did, which immediately ran out the door.

"Fine, here, I even have that old training manual." Pulling a ragged old blue book from his gi, Genma dropped it on the table. "It's an ultimate technique, the 'Cat Fu', or Neko-ken technique."

Nabiki, sitting between me and Genma, took the book and started reading the first page, "First dig a large pit and fill it with cats, any kind of cat will do; then leave them there for a week until they are mad with hunger. Finally, wrap the student in fish-rolls and toss him into the pit; eventually, the spirit of the maddened cats will be instilled into the student and he will have learned the Neko-ken!" Once she finished, Nabiki dove on Genma, in an attempt to strangle him; it was good for both of their sakes that I pulled her off of him. "What the Hell is wrong with you!"

Genma yelled back at the girl, "Be quiet and read the next page before you get angry!"

"Psh!" Re-opening the book, Nabiki opened the last page and read its contents, "This technique has been banned because the training causes severe mental stress."

Genma nodded, "Yes, I wish I had read that part before actually attempting to teach it to him." His head was then knocked back by a wooden bowl that Ranma had thrown at him, which bounced off and landed somewhere off to the side.

"Dammit pops, you didn't even tell them the worst part!"

Everyone then looked curiously at Genma, who by now was pretending to be unconscious, until I poked him in the eye. "_HEY!_ I… uh…"

Kasumi leaned forward, energetically pleading with Genma, "Tell us, Mr. Saotome, what does Ranma mean by the 'Worst part'?"

Genma sighed, "The worst part is that Ranma was only six years old when I ran across this technique; in retrospect, I see that he didn't know how to fight yet, and certainly wasn't ready for such a mental challenge as the Neko-ken."

After a few seconds of silence, I stood up, "Well, we should all be going to bed now; tomorrow's Sunday and we're going to need our strength. Come on, Ranma."

"What? Why me?"

I smiled at him, "Because I said so, just come on alright?" I then turned and continued on down the hall, with Ranma grumpily following.

I then stopped in front of the room to the furo, "Here, go in, I'll bring you something clean to wear."

"Nani?" Ranma brought his hands up defensively, then started to stutter out a wide-eyed response, "What? Why? I can get my own clothes!"

I shook my head, "I got a good whiff of all your clothes, and you don't have anything whatsoever that's clean. Just go and don't worry about it."

As I walked away, Ranma grumbled as he went into the changing room and stripped down. By the time I got back Ranma was just splashing himself with cold water, complaining about it being cold; smiling, I barged right in, quietly moving in behind Ranma and grabbed him, now her, by the shoulders.

Feeling my touch, Ranma-chan suddenly turned around, "Ah! Akane! What are you doing in here!" It didn't take long, I suppose, for her to notice that I was still fully clothed, nor that much longer to notice that I was smiling and looking at her left hand, which had been thrust down to cover her crotch, a built-in reaction.

"Heh, Ranma, there's nothing for you to hide here."

Ranma frowned darkly, "Don't remind me."

My smile dropping, I sighed, "Yes, that's right, Ranma, you're a full-on girl, are you going to try to deny that forever?"

Ranma looked at me angrily, "I ain't no girl!"

I smiled, putting one finger in the air, "You? No, of course you aren't, you don't think or act like a girl at all, you think and act like a guy because that's what you are. But that body you've got is _all_ girl, and it really wouldn't do for you to ignore it."

Ranma looked at me like I had grown a second head, "Huh? Whaddaya mean by that?"

I smiled, putting my hands under Ranma's armpits and pulling her to a standing position, despite her protests, I then led her to a standing mirror and stood her in front of it.

Turning to me, Ranma angrily yelled, "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Frowning lightly, I pointed at the mirror, "_LOOK_ Ranma!"

"I don't wanna! Besides, I'm a guy!"

I sighed, closing my eyes and dropping my face a bit, "Just look, Ranma. In this form, at least, you're a girl, totally and completely. You're smaller, your voice is higher, and most of all boys will look at you like this because dangit you're 'hot'. You've got those big, honkin jugs attached to your chest, and you'll have to sit down to pee. I already told you there's no escaping it, and you saw the proof that I know what I'm talking about. You turn into a girl, and despite what your father may think, it is _NOTHING_ to be ashamed of!"

Ranma turned back on me, "That's easy for you to say! You've always been a girl!"

"That's right." I nodded, stopping Ranma's tirade, "I've always been a girl, and I've always had to deal with being a girl. The same goes for both my sisters and half our classmates, they handle it every single day, are you going to tell me you can't?"

"Like Hell I can't!" Ranma shoved a thumb toward her left breast, "I can be the best girl there ever was!"

Nodding quietly, I took Ranma's thumb from her breast, "Of course you can, but I'm not going to ask you to. For now it'd be more than enough to get to know this form of yours as well as you know your other form." Nodding, I then moved closer to Ranma-chan's ear, "That, and I think it'll be easier for you to learn ki techniques in this form, since you'll need to familiarize yourself with this body's ki anyway."

Ranma frowned, looking down at herself, apparently thinking more than looking, "Fine, I'll stay this way for a while." She then turned around suddenly and confronted me, "But I ain't gonna wear no skirts or girls' underwear!"

I smiled nervously, putting my hands up placatingly, "Of course not! It wouldn't be appropriate anyway when you change back; as you apparently already know." Smiling, I gave Ranma a knowing look as I put one hand to my chin.

"Hey! Don't even bring that up!" Ranma threw a bar of soap at me, blushing as she did, and I only laughed as I walked to the exit.

Unfortunately, I wasn't watching where I was going, and with so much water around it was inevitable that I should trip over a forgotten pail.

"Hey, something wrong, Akane?"

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief from my place just around the corner of the changing room, "Ahahaha! No, everything's fine!" 'Of course it'd happen; I have a reason to avoid cold water now, so _now_ it'll start coming at me again!' Aside from the obvious problem of Ranma's Ailurophobia, and the fact I didn't want a certain redhead streaking through Nerima, I was _REALLY_ glad Ranma couldn't see the panic in my face right then.

Taking a breath to calm myself before Ranma decided to investigate my hasty exit, I reached down and got the things that I had brought for Ranma to put on for the night. Putting them in a small basket, I left them on the floor beside the door, "Here's what I've got that I think should fit you; if it doesn't just yell and we'll figure something else out." I then closed the inner door behind me, quickly moving out the outer door and back into the hall.

* * *

Later

* * *

Genma looked at Ranma, who was now a girl and wearing what looked to be a yellow t-shirt with pink overalls. "And just what do you think you're wearing, boy?"

Ranma snorted, getting the outfit unbuckled so he could get in his normal boxers and white muscle-shirt, which is what he normally slept in, "All o' my clothes are in the wash an' this is what I got to wear until they're clean."

"But boy, it's pink!"

Ranma snorted, "At least it ain't a skirt. Besides, it's only until later tomorrow." Pulling the overalls off, Ranma revealed that she was wearing boxers beneath them, which gave Genma 'some' level of comfort.

* * *

Lying in bed, I did my best to be tired, but my mind kept jumping around from place to place, and I really just didn't feel all that tired.

Finally turning one more time before giving up and getting out of bed, I went back downstairs, still in my yellow nightie. Everyone else was already in bed, probably either just getting to sleep or already asleep, so I was alone as I went to the primary phone just outside the kitchen.

Picking the receiver up, I listened for the dial-tone before dialing a well-used number. Waiting for the pick-up, I then waited through the drone of a familiar answering machine.

Hearing the 'tone', I responded with usual familiarity, "Hey, it's me Akane. Look, I know you're in Hokkaido, probably just now getting back, but before you do I thought you'd want to know. Ranma's here."

Hanging up the phone, I then went back upstairs and to bed, where I then meditated in lieu of sleep, and thus finally ended another day.

* * *

End Chapter 4

* * *

(1) This just came to me and I made it up on the spot, but it SO sounds like something Happosai would come up with, ne? And both he and Genma seem like the types to never reveal it during the series.

(2) When I originally started this chapter, I honestly didn't know whether Akane would win, or Genma, and had full plans for either outcome. It just happens that when the moment came, Akane won; and as often happens, it was Genma's ego that did him in. I can't say I didn't favor Akane, though; after all, I don't much care for Genma... I've debated with myself about Akane's accepting of the challenge as being foolish, but I've realized that Akane has good reason to be confident, reasons which will be better revealed later.

Sorry this is late everybody, I started my new job last week and I was among the Living Dead for most of Sunday, so updating just slipped out my mind, probably the only thing that could slip at that point. :(

Author's Rant

Fanfiction dot net's quick-edit really annoys me, and has since the day they put it up; ever since they did, things like brackets, formatting beyond simple bold italic and underlines, and most importantly (to me at least) the tab. I used to depend on the tabs that Microsoft Word gave when saved as a web-page, but now even the old HTML stand-by, that of the non-breaking space, doesn't work; it annoys me to no end. I can deal without a tab, of course, but something even worse is making me nervous when I make stories to post on ff.n; grouping symbols. When making Ranma 1/2 stories, I like so many others have used multiple types of grouping symbols to denote different types of speech, such as Genma's signs, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, ect... Unfortunately, now only the parentheses and square brackets work, and even that I'm not sure will continue to work. **Sigh** Oh, and the star symbol, gotta have that.

End Author's Rant

Alex Ultra: Meow? Meo-Meow! Rrrrrrrrr…

LATER


	5. Showdown

Disclaimer: "Huh? Where'd I put it? Dangit! Oh, here it is." I don't own it.

------ Showdown ------

'Ah, it's so nice to be surrounded by students again.' Soun took his customary place at the head of the dojo and raised a finger into the air, "Now then, today we will start out with some vigorous workout, and follow that up with one-on-one sparring, except for Hyuusoke who will have two opponents; as is customary for Sundays, class hours will be five hours long. Now, let's get started!"

A small number of students, physically separated from the rest as if they were some kind of separate club or group, all looked around the dojo as if they were lost; through all of their minds, there was only one question… 'Where is Akane-sensei?'

Soun continued, "Now then, follow my movements, take my positions as quickly as possible, then hold it until I change my position again."

"ON YOUR RIGHT HANDS! I WANT TO SEE YOU AS VERTICAL AS POSSIBLE!"

Like an explosion going off, all of the students separated into the corner simultaneously jerked into a vertical position balanced on their rights hands, all thinking the same thing, 'That's Akane's voice!' "Yes Ma'am!"

Seeing this, Soun blinked, followed by the remainder of his class, thinking it perfectly normal to follow their master's blink, "Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention…"

"NOW! UP INTO- wait a minute, 'Yes ma'am?'" At that, I ran to the door of the dojo and peered inside, to see my normal procession in the corner, all on their right hands, looking up at me expectantly. I then looked to daddy, who waved back, followed by the rest of his class. "Daddy, you didn't tell me you were starting classes again?"

"Ah, oh, I forgot to tell you? I'm sorry; class, Akane won't be joining us today. As you all know, we have visitors from my old training partner's school, and Akane is getting to know them. I 'did' hope to have my old friend filling in for her…"

I blinked, "You did huh?"

"Hey, what's going on in here, huh?" Ranma peeked his head in the door over my shoulder, looking around, though finally stopping on the students in the corner, "And why are those people in the corner… like, that?"

I waved him off, "Those are just my students, they probably heard me through the wall is all."

Ranma took this in, "You… teach…? kkkkkKKYAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THAT'S A GOOD ONE AKANE! WHO EVER HEARD OF A GIRL TEACHING MARTIAL ARTS! BWAHAHAHA!"

Looking at Ranma, I twitched a couple of times before grabbing the back of his shirt and throwing him into my corner, "Punish him!"

"Aaaahhg!"

What followed was nothing short of a brawl; I had hoped things would turn out well, but in the end it just turned up with the boys on the floor and Ranma dodging my two female students' attacks, and I sighed, "I should have known…" I then leapt after Ranma, slamming him to the floor with a double-fisted crush from behind, "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."

Ranma twitched a couple of times on the floor, "Macho chick!"

One of the male students then approached me, "Akane-sensei, may I ask you something!"

I nodded curiously, "Sure, what's up?"

"We were just wondering, when will Ukyo be returning?"

I blinked even as Ranma twitched a little more strongly beneath my foot, "Oh, he said he'd be back today; didn't wanna leave the shop empty too long, I guess. I haven't actually heard from him yet, though."

One of the girls sighed, "Darn."

I blinked, looking at the girl curiously, "What's wrong? Disappointed?"

"Ah!" The girl was suddenly defensive, as if trying to hold back her embarrassment; she had it good, poor girl, "Ahah! N-nothing! I just, wanted to ask him a favor is all! If I could borrow his spatula! Yeah!"

This act, however, neither I, the other female student, nor even any of the male students were actually buying, but I shrugged it away anyway, "Well like I said…"

"Hey!" Ranma had turned his head to the side and was looking up at me from beneath my foot, "Did you say 'Ukyo'? What's his last name?"

I blinked at Ranma, then smiled as I responded, "Why, Kuonji, of course! I take it you _do_ remember? 'Cause Ukyo talks about you an awful lot, Ranma."

Then both girls suddenly came out with miniature versions of the 'Demon Head', "_This is Ranma! THE Ranma Saotome!?_"

"Ah, w-wha?" Ranma did his best to put up a guard despite being still pinned to the ground.

I, on the other hand, only nodded, "Yup, Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, son of Genma Saotome… and speaking of which…" Stopping the girls from ripping Ranma's head off, I held their shoulders fast as I looked over the faces of the little gathering, "Worry not! For I will be sure to have Genma-san up to speed by the end of the week!"

Though my declaration had no lightning-bolt to back it up, it still had the effect of paralyzing all who heard it (except for Ranma and I, of course; even Genma seemed frozen in the door). Doubtless my students were running through what it meant when I had said 'up to speed', and as for Genma… who knows?

'One week is seven days, and seven days means….' "GROOOOOWWWW!!!!!" And with that he sped off.

Hearing the sound, everyone in the dojo looked at the door just in time to see a panda running off; most didn't question it, but I did manage to hear a few questions floating around, as well as Ranma saying "Aw pops, you fraidy-ca-er-panda… COULD YOU GET YOUR FOOT OFF MY BACK NOW!"

"Ahah!" Picking Ranma up by the shoulders, I set him to the front of my students, who just looked at the both of us like we were crazy, "Ranma, could you do me a favor?"

"A-wha?"

I nodded, then gave my students a serious look, prompting them to organize themselves back into their normal formation, "Now then! First you will follow my father through some stretching exercises, then I'm going to have Mr. Tendo pair you up three at a time to spar with Ranma here!" Seeing that they were all agreeing, I turned to Ranma, "Ranma, you're fast enough to handle it obviously, I shouldn't expect less of the son of my father's obsessive-compulsive training partner; so this time just dodge their attacks until they wear themselves out, okay by you?"

Ranma scratched his cheek, "Obsa-who?"

I growled lightly before turning around, "I'll explain it to you later, first I have to catch my newest student; I'll be back soon!"

After watching me go, Ranma turned back to find all of my students already following the dojo-master's lead through their stretching exercises; from what I've heard, he then sat quietly with a glum and frustrated look on his face.

--

'Let's see, he should be right… there! Heh, can't let him know I've found him already; hmm, Ucchan's already back in town… heh, I think I'll lead Genma over to see an old friend.'

It was tough going, of course, leading Genma without him catching on that I knew how to follow him, so it took something like a half-hour before I was able to get him into Ucchan's restaurant's neighborhood. Once he was within sight of the store, I decided to pay a friend a visit.

Knocking on the front door of Ukyo's quaint little store, I waited for 'him' to answer.

"Ucchan!" I then hugged the cross-dresser, genuinely happy to see her.

"Hey, Akane! You really gotta start giving me a half-hour to get unpacked, at least!"

Backing away, I smiled as I laughed, "Ahaha, yeah, I guess; it's just, um…" Closing in on the girl's ear, I whispered, "Pandas eat bamboo…"

Ukyo blinked, "Yeah? And?"

My right eyebrow twitching, I tried again, "Panda fur is very thick."

Ukyo furrowed her brow, "Um, are you okay?"

Getting frustrated now, I whispered again, "Jusenkyo is dangerous for men with small brains."

Ukyo frowned, "Well yeah, I… wait, you can't mean."

I nodded, then dramatically pointed directly at Genma, "Yes! Genma Saotome is Right THERE!"

Ukyo's eyebrow twitched, "And he's turned into a panda?"

I nodded, "Yup."

"And Ranma?"

"Cursed to become a girl."

Genma, by this time, was already high-tailing it out of there, "And they're…"

"Both staying at our place; I left a message on your machine, but I guess you haven't gotten to checking them yet."

Ukyo nodded, "I guess the shop can afford to stay closed one more day; thanks for the heads-up, Akane-chan!"

I smiled and gave my friend the 'thumbs up', "No problem!" I then turned and leapt after Genma whilst Ukyo returned to the innards of her shop to get ready for the day.

It then wasn't long before the howl of a panda echoed across the region.

--

Tying Genma to a tree, I returned to the dojo to check up on how Ranma was doing with my students, and found that he was doing just fine. To be sure, though, I moved up close to one of the six boys who weren't currently fighting him, "Hey, how's Ranma doing?"

The boys who heard me say this suddenly frowned, a sigh escaping from somewhere near their throats, "He's great and all, but completely uninteresting, and totally inelegant!"

I looked at Ranma, who was dodging the attacks of the two girls and one guy student, and commented to myself, "Inelegant, huh?"

I then returned with a bucket of water, and when Ranma wasn't watching I dumped it over his head.

"HEY! WHADJA DO THAT FOR!? Hmm?" It took a second for it to register in Ranma's head that she had been changed into a girl. "Eh?" She then noticed the looks that the male students were giving her, even the students that I didn't commonly refer to as being 'mine'. "Huh? What're you all looking at me like that for?"

Suddenly one of the boys started bowing to me, "OH THANK YOU AKANE-SENSEI! THIS IS MUCH BETTER!"

"It's like a dream come true!"

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner!?"

"Because you're all perverts, that's why!"

At Mariko's rant I only shrugged, "Perverts or not, I can't let my students be uninspired. You girls can be done for now unless you want to keep going. And as far as the wet floor goes, deal with it for now, improvising in the face of adversity is a trademark of Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

Ranma shook as she pointed at the guys, who were looking at her with either hearts or hunger in their eyes, "W-wait! I'm not a girl, I'm a guy!"

I waved Ranma's declaration off, "They know how Jusenkyo works, Ranma, they know you're really a guy; obviously that doesn't matter much when you look as good as _you_ do. Tata now, I'm off to prepare your father." I then lilted my way back out the dojo door, carrying the bucket with me.

"Eyes forward, students! Minds in your fights, not the gutter!" Daddy also seemed to be struck by the effect Ranma's change had on his class, but regained control fairly quickly of course.

Cracking my knuckles, I looked down at Genma, who was just now regaining consciousness, 'Now what should I do with you? How shall I bring You "up to speed"?'

Just before Genma regained consciousness completely, I filled my bucket with water from the koi pond and heated it with my ki. Then, as Genma was just about to yell at me, I poured my water over his head.

"Aaaahahaha! That was hot, girl!"

I snorted, "Oh quit your whining, Big Man, that's the entire idea, remember?"

Angrily he pulled at the end of his noose, trying to get in my face, "Well it needn't be quite _that_ hot!"

I smiled, "Are you saying you can't take it?"

"You did that on purpose!?"

"Oooh, you do catch on eventually!"

Suddenly an angry voice came from out front, "I am here for Genma Saotome!"

'Wow, that was quick.' "Come on back, Ucchan!"

Genma, hearing the name, suddenly leapt into the tree to which he was tied.

Ukyo came out to the back yard, carrying a whole lot more than just her customary spatula, "Hey, what's all that stuff for?"

Smirking, Ukyo took the bundle and threw it into the air, "THIS! HYAA!"

Before it had even landed on the ground Ukyo already had a large mat, complete with arena-style rubber ropes and even an announcer's box that landed literally at my feet; the whole thing took up most of the back-yard.

Landing in the ring, Ukyo pointed directly at Genma, who was still up in the tree, "Come down here you honorless coward, and fight me, Genma Saotome! I challenge you!"

By this time everyone in the dojo was already coming outside to see what all the commotion was, even Ranma-chan, whom Ukyo spared a quick smile for before turning back to Genma, "What's wrong, afraid?"

Then I raised my hand, getting Ukyo's attention, "Actually Ukyo, let me untie him first, okay?"

This, of course, got the expected reaction of everyone within hearing range suddenly losing their balance.

--

Rubbing his neck, Genma spared Ukyo a disgusted look, "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

Ukyo didn't return any better than she got, "My name is Ukyo Kuonji, and I'm here to get revenge for what you did to me. Don't think you can get off easy, Genma Saotome!"

Genma only laughed, "Hahaha! As if someone like you could defeat me!"

From the sidelines I hung on the ropes, "So do you accept Ukyo's challenge?"

Genma nodded, "Yes! And when I win you'll forget all of this revenge nonsense and go back to being the girl you know you are!"

"Hah! Don't underestimate me, Saotome! I planned on it either way!" Ukyo, of course, seemed to have forgotten that a couple dozen people who knew her as a man were watching this particular fight. "Now, defend yourself!"

Genma brought up his arms, "Fine!"

The talking finished with, both fighters stood in their ready positions, measuring each-other up. This continued for several seconds.

That is, of course, until Ukyo turned to me, "Hey Akane, y'mind?"

Suddenly on the spot, I jumped, turning around to see a bell and hammer on the table behind me, "Oh! Right!" I then took the little striker and struck the bell, producing a satisfying 'TWING!'

Before I could even turn around, Genma had already grabbed Ukyo by the back of her shirt and pants and was carrying her over his head to the side of the ring. Seeing this, I sighed. 'Oh well, I guess he'll learn.'

When Genma finally got to the edge of the ring, he forcefully threw the boy-apparent to the ground, but wasn't prepared for her to grab the ropes with one foot and one hand, only to rebound back at Genma with one foot extended, throwing him nearly to the other end of the ring.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to win against _me_ old man! You're in _my_ element now!"

Leaning my elbows against the table, I settled in to watch what promised to be a long fight.

Cracking her knuckles, Ukyo suddenly charged Genma, following this by suddenly thrusting both open hands forward, prompting Genma to stop her by catching her hands; Genma then flipped over backwards, sending Ukyo reeling, but he couldn't shake Ukyo's grip and she used the momentum of her tumble to pull Genma back over with her, which ended up with Genma hitting the mat face-first, stunning him.

"Heh." Picking the man up, Ukyo grabbed the back of his gi and pull-charged him directly into a nearby corner, trying to rail him against the ropes, but he put a stop to this plan by catching the corner with one foot, then jumping backwards, nearly landing on Ukyo, who had jumped out of the way at the last second.

Still not finished, Ukyo was suddenly coming down on Genma from the air, swinging a giant steel spatula over her head and directly down on Genma, who caught the very end of it at the very last second, only to have Ukyo slam one foot into his face.

"Rrraaagh!" Throwing the half-ton spatula through the air, Genma returned to standing position and charged at his opponent, who stood her ground until Genma threw a wild left hook, which she ducked beneath, then came back up, turning her body to the side while wrapping her arm around Genma's neck; once she had his neck, Ukyo then thrust a knee directly into the man's portly stomach. Stunned but not done yet, Genma turned in Ukyo's direction and wrapped his arm around her stomach, then forcing her to the ground, where he then sat on her back with one knee. "Give up yet?"

"Hah! Not a chance!" Despite how impossible it may have seemed, Ukyo somehow managed to wriggle out from beneath Genma, only to come at him once more.

'I don't know if Genma will get it any time soon; Ukyo specializes in grappling moves, there is no holding her for long, he really is in her element.' I watched for a few minutes more as Genma tried to get Ukyo to submit, only to have all of his efforts come back and slam him in the face.

Finally, "_DING!!!_ Stop fighting!"

Hearing this, Ukyo stopped so suddenly in mid-charge that she actually fell on her face. She then got back up to yell at me, "Akane! What's the deal!"

I waved the little hammer back and forth, "It's been five minutes, round one is up. You both have sixty seconds to catch your breath."

"THIS ISN'T A BOXING MATCH, IT'S A MARTIAL ARTS CHALLENGE!"

I shrugged non-committedly, "You put me in charge of the bell, I make the rules."

"Bah!" Crossing her arms, Ukyo went to a corner and leaned against the ropes, "Fine, five minute rounds with one minute breaks. It's not like we have seconds anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

As Ukyo continued to stare angrily at a confused Genma, one of the students standing nearby yelled up to Ukyo, "Ukyo-san, what is all this? Why are you so mad at that man?"

I shrugged as I answered for Ukyo, who probably couldn't have come up with a good answer anyway, "Childhood vendetta, Ukyo's been looking for the Saotome's since she was six."

One of the girls suddenly giggled, "Oooh! So romantic! And now you've come to defeat the man who slighted you and sweep your love Ranma off her feet!"

As Ukyo stammered, confused and a bit embarrassed, I smiled, "Naniko, you have no idea how close you came with that one, but that's for later; four, three, two, one, GO! _DING!_"

Suddenly both fighters were back into the melee, throwing, tossing, grabbing, slamming, and periodically even using their fists and feet in a bid to get one over the other. After another five minutes, I rung the bell and ended round two.

Ranma followed Ukyo to her corner, "Ucchan! Is it really you? It's me, Ranma!"

Ukyo smiled, "Yeah, it's me, and I know it's you, you can't hide from me _that_ easily! I'll explain everything when this is all over."

After sixty seconds of calm, I rung the bell again and the fight resumed as if it'd never been stopped. Another five minutes and I rung it again to end round three.

"So, uh, you've obviously gotten a lot stronger, been training much?"

Ukyo smiled, a sweatdrop running down the back of her head, "Uh, yeah, I do okay."

Then one of my better students approached Ranma, "Ukyo's at the head of our class, just behind Akane-sensei."

"Nobody can beat her at close range!"

Ukyo smiled nervously, almost dropping her disguised voice, "Aw, c'mon, you're gonna embarrass me…"

"You're just being modest!"

"_DING!_"

And so round four started, and both combatants ran against the ropes several times before another five minutes were up and they both returned to their corners.

"Not bad, girl; I can see now that you learned a lot with Tendo as your teacher, but you haven't even _begun_ to reach _my_ level of Mastery of the Art!"

Ukyo only stuck her tongue out at Mr. Saotome, "You're just bitter because you're losing!"

"You tell 'im, Ukyo!"

"Yeah! He'll pay for calling you a girl!"

At this Ukyo only froze for a moment, even as one of the female students accosted this last cat-caller, "And just what's wrong with being a girl?"

"Um, I?"

"Honestly! There's nothing wrong with being a girl! Right Ranma?"

Ranma then started sporting much the same look that Ukyo had had only moments before, "Well, I, uh?"

I sighed, raising my voice so I could be heard, "If I thought I could get away with it, _I_ would dress more like a boy if it meant not having to deal with the boys always ogling me all the time."

"B-but Akane-sensei!"

Waving the hammer around, I commented a little more, "Don't get me wrong, I like being a girl; it's just people like Kuno-sempai are really hard to deal with, y'know? Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. _DING!_" Of course, it didn't even occur to anyone to comment on the fact that I'd said 'Ding' as I rung the bell, it was normal for me after all.

Genma smirked before he attacked, "Just admit it! You're nothing but a little girl! Why don't you go find a _man_ and make him your _HUSBAND!_" This he punctuated by throwing the Okonomiyaki chef back into her corner of the ring, where she landed atop the ropes.

Balancing on the ropes, I watched as visions of bloody, horrific murder flashed across Ukyo's face, "WHO ARE _YOU_ TO TALK! YOU TOOK MY HONOR, MY FAMILY, AND MY _LIFE_ FROM ME! RRAAAGHHH!!!"

Five minutes passed, and I rung the bell once more.

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT, GIRL!?"

I frowned at Genma, "I set the rules before this match even started, and you have to follow them, now get in your corner." Grumbling, Genma complied as Ukyo settled into her own corner, breathing much harder than she had over the previous intermission.

Ranma offered Ukyo some advice while she caught her breath, "Don't listen to pops, it's part of the Saotome style to make your opponent mad."

"_And it's working!_"

"But you being mad is making you sloppy!"

At that point I commented as well, "You're also putting a lot more energy into movements that are less precise; if you keep it up at that rate you're just going to wear yourself out."

"Quiet! This isn't your fight girl!" Genma then turned to Ranma, "Or yours, Ranma!"

Balancing the striking hammer on the tip of my index finger, I boredly berated Genma, "Oh be quiet, Genma. You may still out-rank your son, but as far as I'm concerned both you and Ukyo are my students; I can give advice all I want."

It was then that Ukyo started looking at me with confusion replacing her anger, "You huh?"

I smiled knowingly, "That's right; he accepted the challenge, so as of last night the Master of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts is now _my_ student."

Ukyo stuttered a bit, then laughed as realization set in, putting her in a good mood just as sixty seconds were up and the bell rung again signaling the start of round six.

This time Ukyo didn't actually do much attacking, instead allowing Genma to waste his energy on attacks that only rarely landed and even when they did didn't have much effect. Genma tried to egg Ukyo on with more taunts, but Ukyo just kept smiling, once breaking out into controlled laughter, which irritated Genma.

Finally, after five more minutes, I rung the bell once more.

One of my students approached me at the table, "Ukyo looks like he's doing pretty well."

Looking first at Ukyo, then at the boy who'd commented this to me, I slowly shook my head, "Nope, Ukyo's getting the worst of it. Besides, Mr. Saotome hasn't even used any of his special techniques yet; Ukyo hasn't either, but at this point it looks to be an endurance match, and Genma's been doing this a lot longer than Ukyo has."

Hearing this, Ukyo dropped her smile, most likely realizing that I was correct, where Genma only smiled, "What's wrong, girl? Losing your nerve?"

Ukyo yelled back at the admittedly aggravating man, "Hell no! Bring it on!"

Genma laughed confidently, swinging his head back and generally making an overdramatic show of being downright cocky, "HAHA! Wait for the bell, Girl! Besides, you look like you could use the rest!"

I made no effort to try to calm Ukyo at that point, who was simmering just beneath the surface, as the last ten seconds of break ticked away and I signaled the beginning of round seven.

As Ukyo and Genma returned to the fray, memories from a conversation just a few months ago surfaced, '_If I can just go nine rounds with Genma Saotome, I'll be satisfied.'_

Of course, remembering this promise of Ukyo's, I couldn't help but notice that at this point it seemed unlikely that she would accomplish even that, her having worn herself out in round five. 'If you had just played it smart, you would have had a much better chance at coming out of this okay. As it is, you aren't even attempting to throw him any more…'

I smiled, though, as Ukyo pulled seemingly from nowhere a large mound of what looked like dough, just in time to slap it in Genma's face; with Genma stunned Ukyo then pulled the dough around the portly man, wrapping him like some kind of croissant, even as a second ingredient went in against Genma's skin.

"Mphhh?" Genma's confusion was short-lived, however, as the dough suddenly exploded, ripping itself to shreds even as the bulk of the blast was directed in and on Genma's entire body.

With the blast over, Genma shook the last of the dough from his arms and ripped the dough from his face, revealing that he'd been rather badly burned by the explosion, "That was a dirty trick, girl!"

Ukyo smirked, putting her nose in the air, "It's not a trick, it's one of my special techniques! Gunpowder Okonomiyaki Supreme!"

I blinked, "Wow." I then rung the bell, "Ukyo timed that really, really well." Some who were nearby me heard this and suddenly fell over.

The same person who'd commented before commented to me again, "What do you think now, Akane-sensei?"

I shrugged, "That last blow took something out of Mr. Saotome, but at this point it's still anybody's game."

Sooner than later another sixty seconds passed and I rung the bell yet again, signaling the beginning of round 8.

Genma was now crispy from Ukyo's last attack, and Ukyo was fully prepared to take advantage of a new edge in speed; unfortunately, having realized that he needed to recover his equilibrium, Genma wasn't ready to allow Ukyo any openings.

Sensing this, Ukyo instead worked on testing Genma's defenses, periodically moving in on him with a jab here, a kick there, and a sudden charge that blasted right by the portly man so quickly that he slipped on a bit of dough as he turned around, falling on his rump. Ukyo smirked as she came back at Genma and punted him at a corner of the ring, where he didn't hit as hard as she would have liked.

As strange as it was for the fight, there wasn't any yelling or heckling, "What's wrong old man, getting tired?" Or at least not very much.

Genma smirked, "Just giving you a breather, we wouldn't want you tiring out girl."

Ukyo smirked again, "Big talk for somebody who's missing his eyebrows."

I could tell that Genma was going to retort, but of course he couldn't think of any way to respond to Ukyo's latest jab, instead he merely touched where his eyebrows used to be, finding that what few hairs were still there were now burned and shrivelled. This, of course, stunned him just long enough for Ukyo to get behind him and kick him in the rump; judging on the angle of the kick I was fairly sure that she was trying to kick him from the ring, but he had the sense of mind to grab a rope before he would have flown from the square arena. He frowned at his opponent as he got back to his feet, his defense visibly creating a wall that Ukyo wasn't likely to penetrate as he did so.

Watching each-other's eyes, Genma and Ukyo slowly circled around the center of the ring, arms all up at the ready, waiting and watching for an opening for attack. And then I rang the bell, because the round was over. "And yes, Genma, your eyebrows are pretty-much gone."

Not much else was said as the two combattants made their way to their corners, or the corners they had claimed earlier in the fight, "_GENMA SAOTOME!!!_" And then they were interrupted.

Jumping at the announcement of an unexpected attack, Genma turned just in time to catch what appeared to be the end of a wooden bokuto sword.

"**_BLANG!!!_**" He didn't stay in that position for long, though, as right then the bell I had been ringing all through the match slammed into the intruder's head, knocking him to the ground just to the side of the ring.

"What is this!?" Genma angrily leaned over the edge of the ropes, looking down at the samurai-wannabe who was now sprawled out on the ground.

Ukyo had gotten a better view of what'd happened, and was approaching as well, "That looked like…"

And I finished her sentence, looking down with disgust at one of the few people in Japan with the gall to interrupt a fight in such a manner, "Kuno-sempai." Before anyone else could respond, I angrily reached down, picking the young man up by the front of his shirt, "Just what the Hell do you think you're doing, Kuno? Interrupting an official challenge match is a good way to make bad enemies!"

Blinking away the fuzz, Kuno looked at me with surprise, "Challenge?"

I nodded, dragging Kuno up and to his feet, "That's right; if you want to fight Genma you're going to have to wait."

Kuno sheathed his bokuto, "I see." He then turned to Ukyo and bowed, "My apologies then, Ukyo Kuonji. I shall wait my turn."

After picking the bell up off the ground, I grabbed the back of Kuno's uniform, "Come on, just wait over here if you really can't wait."

Taking my place at the table, I commented to myself that I really didn't know where the chair I'd been sitting on had come from, 'Whatever.' "Well that was interesting. Now let's just wait for a bit." I looked at my watch, and as the last few seconds ticked wordlessly by Kuno did his best to answer the questions directed at him before, "_DING!_"

On the signal, Ukyo suddenly charged at Genma, lashing out at him once he was in range, but he only fell back. She then attacked again, but Genma fell back some more.

Soon enough, Ukyo had started to literally chase Genma around the ring, literally as if it were some kind of race.

"Get back here you coward! Stand still and take what's comin' to ya!"

"Nya nya! Can't catch me!" Genma turned his head and stuck out his tongue, annoying the girl even more.

Ranma, seeing this, couldn't help but to yell out from the side-lines, "Pops you idiot, fight like a man! You get 'im, Ucchan!!" This sentiment was echoed by most of the girls in the crowd, and a few of the guys.

Ukyo, hearing this, was distracted, if only for a moment, 'Ranchan…'


End file.
